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Advancing hand hygiene is Handwashing For Life's focus for participation in this biennial event, cueing up enhancements for the FDA's Model Food Code.
Original surface cleanliness research at 10 midwest convenience stores will be presented along with implications and suggested remedies. Jim Mann's presentation is titled:The Three Cs for Continuing C-Store Growth: Cleanliness, Convenience & Commitment. read more »
Mark 'n Monitor is the quickest, lowest cost method of checking on surface cleanliness. Are those charged with surface cleaning consistently completing this task?
Simply take GlitterBug® tracer lotion and dab, stamp or write a mark on the target surface. Return after the next cleaning cycle and shine a UV light on the surface. Gone or Not Gone? It's that simple.
For added staff motivation, a log is kept and periodically posted. Once everyone knows that surface cleaning is a documented priority, compliance increases. Surfaces selected for checking can be rotated. Check out the Dirty Dozen prioritization.
The gold standard for surface cleaninliness measurement is still swabbing and lab culturing but delays in getting the results, minimize its impact on training and motivation. This is a strength of Mark 'n Monitor as well as for the ATP/Luminometer method which gives numerical readings in 25 seconds, RLU, Relative Light Units. ATP is particularly helpful in setting cleaning methods and frequency schedules in restaurants. Mark 'n Monitor can be used on a daily basis if ATP swabs and a luminomter are unavailable.
Pictured is a hospital bed rail being checked with a UV flashlight as well as a soap dispenser lever at a restaurant handsink. The bed rail was marked with a cotton swab dipped in GlitterBug®. The handsink was invisibly labelled using a rubber stamp and GlitterBug lotion.
Lowering risk starts with changing handwashing behaviors in Food Processing. This word-free video visualizes the risks of contamination and engages every employee as part of both the problem and solution. Hard hitting graphics connect across cultures and language. read more »
If anyone ever questioned why the Handwashing Only directive is important for specified kitchen handsinks, consider this "poster child" example.
This restaurant is blessed with a handsink perfectly located at the entrance to the prep area. Wait staff pass by it to pick up nearly every order and bussers file by on their trips to the dish machine. But it's a deep sink, perfect for scrubbing the cantaloupes which are heavily used as garnishes from breakfast through dinner in a neighborhood with a full complement of senior citizens.
Handwashing For Life will be addressing the Illinois Food Safety Symposium. The topic is Handwashing: Show Me The Numbers. Handwashing For Life will also be exhibiting where both the ServeReady™ Hands and TouchReady™ Surface programs will be demonstrated. read more »
Show me the numbers ...
Handwashing For Life will be conducting onsite behavioral research on booth 118.
Stop by and vote whether handwashing's primary issue in food establishments is a shortfall in handwash quality or frequency. read more »
Convenience and reliability drive handwashing compliance. Hand sinks are the core of most hand hygiene stations but it's the matching of complementary components that define a best practice choice. Frequent use is the goal of the savvy design consultant, not a minimum to pass the Plan Review.
Priority surfaces earn special attention. Cleaner surfaces, cleaner hands, safer food.
Hand hygiene is first thought of in terms of handwashing. But when setting standards for the frequency to achieve a Safe Level of handwashing you quickly realize the importance of clean surfaces. Cleaner surfaces protect hand cleanliness and proper use of food handling accessories minimize the need for handwashing.
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ServeReady™ Hands and TouchReady™ Surfaces are outcomes of the professional restaurant design. From the icons on the drawing board to the cutting boards and the menu board, customer and staff safety are built in via choices that set conditions for success. Getting the right intervention conveniently cued up for frequent use pays operational dividends and potentially extends the life of the business. Here, Bill Eaton, Chairman of CiniLittle, leads a walk-through such an environment.
Kitchen planning has many different start points. It is somewhat like developing a new recipe. Do you start with an ingredient, the equipment, the process, your staff capabilities or the customer profile? The answer is...yes. For the contrast of a Best Practice solution click here. read more »
The problem with common restroom surfaces is that they are common - shared by the healthy and the unhealthy. Some high-touch surfaces are rarely cleaned, adding to the risk. We call them the Dirty Dozen. A cleanliness standard is needed for each as well as consensus on the cleaning methods and schedules.
Hand drying is a misnomer. The friction added by using a paper towel is a significant part of the "handwash". Using air dryers of any type, can leave a high level of suspended contaminants in place. The shorter the scrub step, the more important it is to use paper towels. This is especially true in restrooms where the Splash 'n Dash is the standard and residues are naturally nasty.
Research from the University of Westminster in London England gives yet another reason to stay away from air dryers in kitchens and restrooms. They are well known for being slow and even the new air blade technology does not offer the friction factor needed in this final cleansing step. Users strongly prefer paper towels and the mere presence of air dryers may discourage handwashing all together.
Now comes this news showing pathogen breeding and having bacteria blown around the room, deposited on surfaces up to 6 feet away. This is especially troubling as we learn more about the lengthy survival times of the highly infectous norovirus on restroom surfaces, documented in Emory University research here or below. read more »
The FDA can't make those decisions but an operator must, every single shift. In a study done by the CDC (J Food Prot. 2006 Oct;69(10):2417-23), it is estimated that 8.6 handwashes per hour worked is required to meet The Model Food Code which treats all touches as the same risk.
This exercise is designed to help categorize the daily touches in a foodservice environment and set up a decision support system for the Person-In-Charge (PIC) based on science and human behavior. The outcome is TouchReady™ Surfaces, a foundation for ServeReady™ Hands. For most operations, 8-9 handwashes per hour is unrealistic, thus, which handwashes will be skipped?
Each surface touched by a food handler carries a different risk of contaminating that food. These must be grouped to facilitate the setting of risk-based standards and the establishment of cleaning protocols with their frequency. Measurement technologies must be agreed between Operations and Quality Assurance in preparation for documentation and the sharing of results with those accountable for cleaning, handwashing and Risk Management.
This is HACCP, risk-based handwashing, sorting out the priority touches that must trigger a handwash.
Two standards are required for handwashing, one for the quality and a second for the likely frequency to maintain hands ServeReady. An assessment of current practices is a good place to involve management and food handling staff. The shared perceptions provide a better understanding of current risks and form a base for personal accountabilities. It's visual. It's personal. It urges action and followup.
Written? Yes! In clear and compelling language, because so many people in so many different departments will be making decisions based on their understanding of these standards. read more »
Cini•Little
GlaxoSmithKline
Hill & Knowlton
NSF International
T&S Brass
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