What Can You Do to Keep Food Safe … Proper Handwashing ... For Real
[editor note: Juliet Bodinetz-Rich is the executive director of Bilingual Hospitality Training Solutions. Ms. Bodinetz-Rich is a food safety expert and foodservice trainer who writes the FOOD SMARTS column for Foodservice Monthly.
For a downloadable version of FOOD SMARTS FEB 2012: Download FSM food smarts 0212
Let’s start out this month by getting straight to the point. Feces is the biggest cause of foodborne illness. This is exemplified by the FIVE most prevalently reported and transmitted foodborne illnesses to be responsible for foodborne outbreaks. They are: Norovirus, Hepatitis A, Salmonella, Shigella and E-Coli. All five of these pathogens originate in feces.
Whether these top five illnesses are transmitted through the food, animals, soil or people, the biggest thing we have to be vigilant is how can we avoid feces in our food? Cooking foods to the correct temperatures can kill these microorganisms found and transmitted primarily through feces, but what about Ready-To-Eat-Foods that we don’t cook? Washing your fruits and vegetable before you cut them up or eat them is imperative. Also, this is why, seriously: Proper Handwashing is Imperative! We have to stop the fecal-oral route.
Proper Handwashing Steps:
- Wet hands with water as hot as you can bear … (The FDA recommends at least 100°F- which is basically body temperature)
- Use soap
- Scrub hands for at least 10-15 seconds (FDA Recommendation) or at least 20 seconds (CDC Recommendation)
- Rinse hands
- Dry hands (best method, single-use paper towel)
- Recommendation: Don’t recontaminate your hands after the time and efforts to wash them properly: Use a paper towel to turn off faucet and to open door handle if departing from bathroom area. Also, don’t use hand sanitizer instead of washing hands. If you use hand sanitizer, use it AFTER washing your hands.
I know, I know. You know you are supposed to wash your hands after you go to the toilet! Then can someone please inform me why the statistics prove that nearly a 1/3 of people do not wash their hands after they go to the toilet? Incredulous! Sorry boys, I still love you, but we ladies seem to be winning with better frequency on handwashing practices after going to the bathroom. When are you supposed to wash your hands? Correct answer: Anytime they are dirty! Translated that means you have to wash your hands:
- After using the toilet
- Before working with food
- BEFORE WORKING PERIOD!
- After working with food
- Before putting on single use disposable gloves
- Before you change from one food handling job to another different food
- After touching part of your body, skin, hair or someone else’s body (you shouldn’t do that on the job – but that’s another course)
- After you do any activity that brings your hand to your mouth area, i.e. eating, drinking, smoking, chewing tobacco (gross), chewing on a toothpick
- After coughing, sneezing or blowing nose in a tissue
- After touching any chemicals
- Taking out the trash
- After Clearing/bussing dirty-used dishes or glassware
- After handling money
- After anything else that is not mentioned here that can dirty your hands
The FDA recommend wearing single use gloves when working with RTE foods. Regardless, Proper Handwashing is the best way to avoid any illness, not just foodborne illness. Don’t we tell our children to wash their hands when they are at school so they don’t catch a cold? Same concept – with our food.
On a serious note, I think everyone knows how to wash their hands and when to wash their hands, but sometimes in this business we can get very stressed in high activity moments and that’s when we can become less aware and mindful to wash our hands. I am the first to admit, in the past, I was the queen of two-second handwashing. Please take the time … to train your staff to properly wash their hands and when to wash their hands.
Please monitor your staff so you can kindly remind them if you don’t see them washing their hands when they should. Ask your crew to help each other and be mindful. Proper Handwashing is the easiest and most IMPORTANT thing we can do to avoid foodborne illness. BUT, at the same time, it’s really the most abused situation in any food establishment due to human error, even by the best intended employees.
Juliet Bodinetz-Rich is the executive director of Bilingual Hospitality Training Solutions and has over 25 years industry and training experience. Her team of instructors’ specialty is food safety, alcohol training and ServSafe training in English or in Spanish and writing HACCP Plans in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. Metro Area. www.bilingualhospitality.com, juliet@bilingualhospitality.com or 443-838-7561. For Latest Food Safety Tips: Become a Fan on Facebook or Twitter: @BHTS
