Finger Tips

John Ciarametaro experienced his own ‘Perry Mason moment’ recently. It happened when Legal Seafood’s manager of Lab and Inspectional Services served as a juror during a mock trial of typical food safety litigation.

“I attended the annual National Environmental Health Association conference in Atlantic City (NJ),” he explained, “which fulfills the continuing education units necessary to maintain my REHS/RS certification.” The conference is attended by virtually all branches of public health professionals, and includes the usual array of lectures, workshops, seminar, and technical presentations.”

A duel between MarlerClark lawyers was a feature at NEHA's 2007 annual education conference (National Environmental Health Association).

The session title was "Handwashing On Trial". CasuaLee's restaurant suffered an outbreak linking back to poor hand hygiene. Plaintiff David Ludwig was represented by Drew Falkenstein and the defense was led by Denis Stearns, defending the owner of CasuaLee's, Lee Budd. The judge, Mark Toscano, was assisted by bailiff Captain Charles Otto and a very special jury of experts.

Today's quality handsoaps are like the "cold water" laundry products. They are very effective at low wash temperatures, thus protecting our epidermal fabric, the skin.

User comfort, guides and encourages frequent handwashing. Some operators and regulators encourage, even demand, handwashing at the top of the comfort range, 110F. A temperature range of 85-105F, matched with a quality handsoap, is less drying to the skin. Healthy skin is easier to clean and encourages more frequent washing.

Surface cleaning and sanitizing are high frequency tasks in professional kitchens and service areas. The costs of these tasks are normally high in training, employee time and chemical consumption. When soils are heavy it is a two step process. When soils are light, electrochemically activated water dispensed from a spray bottle is a Best Practice option. It is a broad spectrum viricide, safe for food contact surfaces and no gloves are required when using.

Vaccination of the foodservice workforce eliminates only 1% of foodborne illness but an estimated 15% of legal cases. The payback of the vaccination program is not only in avoiding litigation when an outbreak occurs but also in the costs of the gamma globulin shots for the exposed customer base.

Fecal-hand-oral is the most frequent pathway for the #1 cause of foodborne illness - norovirus. We also know that the nail area is frequently missed when handwashing. The use of a nailbrush dramatically enhances contaminant removal during handwashing.

In this practice an alcohol based hand sanitizer dispenser is installed alongside a paper towel dispenser and a waste container. The sanitizer is generously dispensed and rubbed vigorously in a pattern set out in Handwashing For Life's Core Handwash and demonstrated in the Why/When/How video. While still wet, vigorously dry the hands with a single-use paper towel. Reapply the hand sanitizer and use according to the label instructions.

Handwashing with soap and warm water is always the preferred choice but handwashing is often restricted by the food worker's access to running water. This is particularly true where Ready-To-Eat foods are served at drive-up windows, on street corners, at sporting events, in airport hallways and at outdoor seating venues. The use of these sanitizers can also enhance hand hygiene at server stations.

Without a specification for the Ready-To-Serve Hand®, operators must depend on simulations and common sense. The use of a tracer such as GlitterBug® and a black light provide a visualization of handwashing effectiveness and serve as a demonstration of knowledge.

Background:

Operators and regulators agree that current foodservice handwashing rates are low, perhaps half of what they should be. Agreement on a Safe Level is far more elusive.