Hand Drying Equipment Guideline for Kitchen Designers

Hand drying with clean towels, paper or cloth, is heavily preferred by foodservice workers for the speed and added cleaning.  This is the case in both the kitchens and restrooms used by food workers. In the 2005 FDA Food Code, a kitchen designer sees that heated air dryers are approved, without any note of its disadvantages, and specifies them. This embeds a compromised hand hygiene system for the life of the equipment.

Heated air dryers are slow. Training employees to wash for 20 seconds is hard enough without having to add 20-30 seconds more for effective drying.

The loss of friction and absorbent surfaces can also leave deposits of suspended soil on the hands.  Users of heated air dryers are frequently seen wiping their wet hands on their clothing or soiled apron as a final step.

Heated air dryers require a burdensome level of training and without it, compliance is compromised.

Public Health Significance

Food workers returning to their workstation with wet hands renew bacterial growth along their trail from the hand sink, either in the kitchen or from the restroom, increasing the opportunity for cross-contamination.  A potential residue of suspended matter also increases the likelihood of cross-contamination.

Recommended Solution: The Conference recommends...

the Conference Chair send a letter to the FDA to urge the following change to the Food Code:

Add a note to section 6-301.12 Hand Drying Provision. Each handwashing sink or group of adjacent handwashing sinks shall be provided with:

(A) Individual, disposable towels;

(B) A continuous towel system that supplies the user with a clean towel; or

(C) A heated-air hand drying device.

note: Alternative (C) adds significant drying time, at least doubling the overall handwashing time, and may require added training emphasis. 

Submitter Information