How Clean Is Your Kitchen? Take The Test

Most of us use the kitchen everyday. But just how clean is it? The Los Angeles department of health has created a self inspection test to help you find the answer.

The test looks at the same aspects as the one restaurants take. About 50 questions into the test, Sarah Weaver's kitchen received a B with a score of 85. That's a pretty good score considering most in the CBS 5 newsroom barely passed with a C. But much like the rest of use, Weaver found some surprising results.

After the kitchen counter comes in contact with raw meat, the counter should be disinfected. Raw meat should also be stored in the bottom shelf, something Weaver said she wasn't aware of.

Food Microbiologist Linda Harris said storing meat above other foods can be a dangerous mistake. arris said if meat is stored above the lettuce it could easily drip into the lettuce.

When cooking big portions of food, items should remain above 135 degrees or below 41 - Anything in between can breed bacteria. There is one thing Weaver had heard to keep food safe and make it last longer. Keep the refrigerator below 41 degrees. Jewelry and long finger nails are also a breeding ground for bacteria.

"We've seen this in a number of outbreaks where the contamination actually happened in a home or in a restaurant," Harris said.