Is it safe to use the same cooking utensils for raw and cooked meat?

Question

So, being new to cooking, I tried cooking a pan-seared ribeye steak for the first time recently. I'm just getting new cooking utensils, and the idea of flipping the steak is something I'm not sure about.

Last time, I used the same utensil the whole way through. I know, many are likely cringing at the thought. But I was afraid of over-cooking so I was as attentive as possible to the steak.

I'm wondering if this is "safe". I'm guessing most will say it is not, and that's fine. I'd like to do better if it's not safe. I bought a pair of tongs since then (I was using a spatula to flip before!) but I still only have one pair. So, should I be placing the steak in the pan with the spatula, flipping with the tongs, and removing it from the pan with...something else?

Is it safe enough to use the tongs, and rinse them each time they touch meat before it's finished? Should I be scrubbing them with soap each time? Should I simply stick to different utensils? (In which case I might just stop cooking--I don't have that many utensils, don't plan on buying more for this purpose, and quite frankly I don't wish to clean so many utensils when I'm finished cooking)

I know there are other topics, but they haven't been quite as specific as the questions I'm asking here, so I hope I can get a good response on the subject.

Answer

Most chefs will use there fingers to put the meat into the pan, then wash their hands. Turning and lifting out, some will use a spatula, with the utensil touching only the cooked, bottom side of the meat, not the top. Thus only needing to wash the utensil at the end of cooking. I have seen some chefs use tongs, though I can't comment on their practice.

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