Kitchen towels carry bacteria potentially leading to food poisoning, a new study found. (Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto) 
 
 New research suggests our kitchen towels hold on to a lot of gross stuff. 
 
 A study presented at the annual meeting for the American Society for Microbiology, which concludes Monday, found the towels could carry pathogens potentially leading to food poisoning. 
 
 Multiple factors contribute to an increase in bacteria found on towels, including family size and the type of food consumed. 
 
 Researchers collected 100 towels after one month of use. Results showed 49% of them had bacterial growth. Those numbers increased when other factors were considered, including using towels for multiple purposes. 
 
 Research showed the risk of towels contaminated with bacteria such as E. coli was higher on humid towels, multi-purpose towels, and in families with non-vegetarian diets. 
 
 "The data indicated that unhygienic practices while handling non-vegetarian food could be common in the kitchen," said lead author Dr. Susheela D. Biranjia-Hurdoyal, a senior lecturer in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Mauritius, in a statement. 
 
 The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends these steps to avoid catching food poisoning through your kitchen towel: 
 
 Wash your hands. USDA suggest washing hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds, whether it's before you cook or after handling raw meat and its packaging. 
 
 Use paper towels once. The more you use a paper towel, the higher the odds germs spread. Use it, then toss it immediately. 
 
 For cloth towels, wash them often. USDA said washing dish towels on the hot cycle of your washing machine will remove bacteria. Also, keep multiple dish towels handy to avoid too much reuse. 
 
 Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23. 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2t2PEUO ||||| Your kitchen towel may harbor a number of different bacteria, a new study finds. But does that mean your towel can actually make you sick? 
 
 Although the new finding may sound gross, it doesn't mean you should ditch your kitchen towel; experts said the bacteria found on the towels in this study aren't particularly concerning when it comes to foodborne illnesses. 
 
 For the study, the researchers gathered 100 kitchen towels from families. The scientists took samples from the towels — which had been used, without being washed, for one month — and cultured, or grew, these samples in lab dishes. The study found that 49 percent of the towels tested positive for bacteria and that the amount of bacteria was higher for towels used by large families or families with children, compared with towels used by smaller families or families without children. [Top 7 Germs in Food that Make You Sick] 
 
 In addition, towels used for multiple purposes — including wiping utensils, drying hands and wiping surfaces — grew more bacteria than towels used for a single purpose, the researchers found. And damp towels grew more bacteria than dry towels, according to the study, which was presented Saturday (June 9) at the American Society for Microbiology meeting in Atlanta. 
 
 Of the towel samples that tested positive for bacteria, about 73 percent grew types of bacteria found in human intestines, including E. coli and Enterococcus species. About 14 percent grew Staphylococcus aureus, or staph, a bacterium that's sometimes found on people's skin. Although staph bacteria usually don't cause illness in healthy people, when the bacterium gets into food, it can product toxins that can cause food poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 
 
 The researchers recommended against multipurpose usage of kitchen towels and said that larger families "should be especially vigilant [when it comes] to hygiene in the kitchen," lead study author Dr. Susheela Biranjia-Hurdoyal, a senior lecturer in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Mauritius, said in a statement. 
 
 Benjamin Chapman, an associate professor and food safety specialist at North Carolina State University, said the study gives us a look at what bacteria are in the environment around us. But "it doesn't surprise me at all that something that's in a kitchen environment has bacteria on it. We really do live in a world that's dominated by microorganisms," Chapman told Live Science. 
 
 As for the bacteria found in the study "what's listed here doesn't initially raise concerns with me," Chapman said. The study didn't find any of the common culprits of foodborne illness, such as Salmonella, Campylobacter or pathogenic types of E. coli, such as E. coli O157:H7, he noted. 
 
 Although staph can indeed cause foodborne illness when it's found in food, the bacterium is also very common on skin. "The fact that it's [on] the towel isn't as concerning as [it being in] food," Chapman said. 
 
 Still, Chapman said that, in theory, kitchen towels could aid in the spread of foodborne illness. This could happen if, for instance, someone used a kitchen towel to wipe up meat juices from the counter and another person unknowingly used the towel to dry their hands, Chapman said. (However, the data from the study didn't show that this was happening.) 
 
 Chapman recommended frequently washing and drying kitchen towels to prevent bacterial growth. 
 
 Original article on Live Science. ||||| After one month of use, researchers found that 49 percent of kitchen towels contained bacterial growth. (Sasin Paraksa/Getty Images) 
 
 Bacteria that causes food poisoning and infections is growing on those kitchen towels used in most households. 
 
 A study from the University of Mauritius found that factors such as family size, type of diet and usage of kitchen towels – for wiping, drying, holding hot things or cleaning surfaces – among other factors, contributes to the growth of bacteria, which can cause food poisoning and other serious infections. 
 
 Researchers examined 100 kitchen towels after one month of use and found that 49 percent of the towels contained bacterial growth. The bacterial growth increased with extended family, presence of children and larger families. The towels used for multiple purposes had a higher pathogen count than single-use towels. Additionally, humid towels had more bacteria than dry ones. 
 
 Of the 49 percent of towels that contained bacterial growth, 36.7 percent contained E. coli , which causes gastroenteric infections; 36.7 contained Enterococcus spp , which causes urinary tract and bloodstream infections; and 14.3 percent contained Staphylococcus aureus , which causes skin and soft tissue infections. 
 
 "Our study demonstrates that the family composition and hygienic practices in the kitchen affected the microbial load of kitchen towels," lead author Susheela Biranjia-Hurdoyal said in a press release. "We also found that diet, type of use and moist kitchen towels could be very important in promoting the growth of potential pathogens responsible for food poisoning." 
 
 The bacterial strains varied in different environments, with staph bacteria appearing more in households of lower socioeconomic status and with children. E. coli was higher in humid towels than dry ones, as well as in multipurpose towels than in single-use ones and in families on non-vegetarian diets. 
 
 E. coli is commonly found in human feces and, according to the study, indicates fecal contamination and poor hygiene. 
 
 "The data indicated that unhygienic practices while handling non-vegetarian food could be common in the kitchen," Biranjia-Hurdoyal said. "Humid towels and multipurpose usage of kitchen towels should be discouraged. Bigger families with children and elderly members should be especially vigilant to hygiene in the kitchen." 
 

– There's a decent chance your kitchen towels are hiding bacteria linked to food poisoning and other infections, according to a new study, though some are urging caution before tossing those towels in the trash. The finding is based on a University of Mauritius study of 100 kitchen towels used unwashed for one month, roughly half of which were found to have bacterial growth. Of these—typically towels associated with children, larger families, multiple uses, higher humidity, and diets containing meat—37% contained E. coli and the same percentage had Enterococcus, bacteria linked to infections of the gut, urinary tract, and bloodstream, reports US News & World Report. Another 14% contained Staphylococcus aureus, which, if it gets into food, can produce toxins triggering food poisoning, per Live Science. But staph being "[on] the towel isn't as concerning as [it being in] food," an expert tells Live Science, noting researchers failed to find the types of bacteria typically associated with foodborne illnesses, like salmonella and O157:H7, a particularly harmful strain of E. coli. "What's listed here doesn't initially raise concerns with me," he says. Still, researchers say people should be careful when using towels in the kitchen. "Bigger families with children and elderly members should be especially vigilant to hygiene," says Susheela Biranjia-Hurdoyal, lead author of the research presented at an annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, per USA Today. And while washing towels frequently is a good habit, "humid towels and multipurpose usage of kitchen towels should be discouraged," Biranjia-Hurdoyal says. (Bacteria also likes rubber ducks.)