Is eating a home-cooked meal less safe than eating one prepared at a restaurant? According to the Department of Public Health in Los Angeles County, it might be.
A study found that only 61% of home kitchens would get an A or B if they were given a restaurant inspection. (14% would fail, in that they would not even receive Cs.) Compare this to restaurants in LA, where 98% of restaurants get As and Bs each year.
87 million cases of food-borne illness are recorded annual in the U.S., which results in roughly 371,000 hospitalizations and 5,700 deaths. So food safety, especially at home, is definitely something to be concerned about.
But when you cook at home, you have control over everything that goes in your food. In a restaurant, who knows what the condition of their kitchen is? So as long as you’re part of that 61% who’s diligent about keeping your kitchen clean and safe, I’d still say that eating at home is safer.
Do you think it’s safer to eat food at home or at a restaurant?
From the AP. Photo by Ben de Jesus.
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{ 26 comments }
Ha ha! My kitchen is definitely in the 61% of A & B grades. My family & I are very careful about the cleanliness & condition of the kitchen and all appliances.
My kitchen would pass with a grade A-.
i dunno
Depends how much hemlock you simmer it in 
One of the first things that stand out to me is that in my kitchen I am assured of proper and frequent hand washing techniques. That is so important to me…I find when out, I scope employees out and wonder if they feel the same way.
I think home cooking is better because you control ingredients, the hand washing and cooking process so you can insure the freshest ingredients, washed properly and control the additives like salt and fat and insure that you are serving the healthiest meal
home cooking is healthier and cleaner. i'm saddened that schools can't share home-cooked meals, snacks, or baked goods anymore.
I have seen prgrams on T.V. showing videos of people doing all kinds of vile, disgusting stuff to food served at restaurants. That being said, I definitely think that home-cooked meals are SAFER than meals at restaurants!
When I cook I make sure I do it very cleanly and remember rules about handling meats ect. I know that restaurants get inspections but my kitchen is pretty clean and we've never gotten sick from anything I've made before. I always wipe the counters with spray that kills germs and flu virus ect. I think I clean my kitchen pretty well. I sometimes don't trust what goes on behind closed doors at the retaurant. You don't know who's handling your food and if they've washed their hands even though they're suppose too ect.
This certainly depends on what kind of housekeeper you are at home! I certainly feel safer cooking for my kids in my own home than I do eating out in restaurants. After all, I know who's working at my home (ME), and we don't always know who's working in the kitchen at outside places.
I think it depends on how well you keep your home- personally mine would pass with an A+- I would much rather eat at home and know how my food is cooked.
Definitely at home would be much cleaner and healthier in my opinion, not to mention the money saved.
At home- we know the people who work in those restaurants- even though the kitchen may pass, the workers- not so much
I would probably get a A+!
I clean my kitchen after evey meal. I am a clean freak. After every meal I clean counters, table, floor, refrig, anything and everything. I love to have my home very clean, you never know when someone will show up. I know my home is clean and with a restaurant you can only see so much. You never know if the cook washed their hand correctly.
I think eating out at restaurants is more dangerous. Sure, they have rules & codes they’re ‘suposed’ to follow. But, you’re entrusting your health & family’s health to a stranger who may have had a bad day & my complicated order could be what sets him off & he decides to spit in my food. Same goes for the waitress, my simple complaint could be too much for her. Bottom line, you don’t know what goes on in the kitchen of a restaurant. Where, at home I prepare all meals for my family out of love, I pay close attention to the ingredients I use. Eating at home to me, is safer than eating out in restaurants.
Home-cooked in general, if you're talking home-prepared, genuine food. Restaurants tend to servce food very high in calories, salt and sometimes even contaminated stuff that will make you sick.
Having worked in a restaurant many years ago, I feel much safer eating at home.
I'll admit that my kitchen may not be the cleanliest, but at least I know the ingredients that are being used in my cooking… and to me, that is much more important. The junk they use in most restaurants, while I eat it, I do not (and will not) feed it to my children on most occasions.
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