If we then go into the kitchen with that phone without cleaning it, any of the particles on our phone can get transferred onto kitchen surfaces, and back onto our hands which renders hand-washing after the bathroom ineffective.
A study published in the Journal of Food Protection found that of the 49% of people that used their phone or tablet while preparing food, only 37% washed their hands with soap afterwards. Now that we know just how dirty our phones are (and what they could be dirty with), we should really try to develop more hygienic phone use habits while preparing food.
The best thing you can do is to sanitise your phone before washing your hands when you prep for the kitchen. All it takes to have a squeaky-clean phone is to place it into a UV sanitiser, then wash your hands. That way you can be sure that your hands and your phone are as clean as each other, so you won’t run the risk of transferring germs while you cook.