Handsinks from Hell

This idyllic resort scene keeps customers looking out rather than down at its hellish ice management practices.

This one ice unit below (two photos) is a very good illustration of at least three ice management issues.

1. How many times have these containers been handled and returned to the ice for storage?
2. The ice scoop is stored in contact with another well handled squeeze bottle.
3. I watched as an employee from the back of the house entered with the ice buckets pictured below, one inside the other and in contact with the floor, just inside the main entrance from the parking lot. Of course as he tipped the ice into the bar unit he grabbed the bottom of each bucket and kindly arranged the cubes by hand.

Health inspectors and food safety auditing firms now treat ice as a ready-to-eat (RTE) food. Indirect as well as direct hand contact, bare or gloved, should be avoided.

For specific details on a Handwashing For Life Best Practice solution, visit http://www.sanjamar.com/safeice

This signage should say “Just try to wash your hands.”

What happened to the For Handwashing Only concept?

This busy restaurant at Chicago's O'Hare Terminal presents quite a few hurdles for potential handwashers among the food handling staff.

This hotel in California, part of a national chain, offers a custom breakfast served from this atrium bar. Working around the beer taps, the busy staff keeps a supply of food nearby - on the handsink, just below the health department's neatly framed certificate.

This Handsink From Hell, previously labeled as Double Blocked, was originally found in this condition.

Obviously it is regularly used as temporary storage, rendering this critical handsink unuseable during many hours of operation. When this restaurant was first designed there may not have been a lock on the adjacent cold storage area. The lock may contribute to this misuse.

Although this handsink is crowded by income producing beverage dispensers, its bigger problem is the location of the paper towels. Wet dripping hands pass over a variety of food contact surfaces including clean glassware.

Management priorities are again evident as beverage dispensing overtakes handwashing convenience.

Making good drinks is a lot easier than handwashing at this four star Lake Tahoe resort.

Temporary convenience trumps access to hand soap ... all day long.