Getting a Handle on Food Safety and Hand Hygiene

Manufacturers of ready-to-eat (RTE) products need to be sure employees have clean hands, since consumers are able to eat the products without further cooking. Bacteria on RTE products can survive long enough to make the consumer ill. Baked goods manufacturers should be aware of the increased risk of spoilage organisms transferring to the products after baking.

Be sure your company’s reputation is not at stake by ensuring your employees comply with GMPs. Here are some items to consider:

Training: Employees need to learn the proper way to wash and sanitize their hands. Your hand hygiene program should include a training program that teaches employees why, when and how to properly wash and sanitize hands.

Language barriers: A language-neutral program is helpful, particularly if you have employees who speak foreign languages.

Soap and Sanitizer Types: Employees are less likely to wash their hands if they have dry skin issues. Moisturizing hand soaps and sanitizers can help address this issue. Another emerging trend that people seem to like is foam soap; they like that the product is pre-lathered when they dispense the soap. (Plus, foam soap is usually more cost effective than liquid or bulk soap.)

Lotions: While lotions are not approved for use with direct food contact, if damaged skin conditions exist, lotions are an effective compliance tool. Remember, cold, harsh conditions exist all year in some process operations.

Gloves: Employees should be aware that even though gloves are worn, hands should still be washed and sanitized.

Company culture: Employees’ behaviors are shaped by the behaviors of management. It’s important to instill the importance of hand hygiene into the culture of your company. Be sure your hand hygiene program is included in office and non-production areas.

Implementation

As you are ordering products and dispensers for your hand hygiene program, keep in mind three main areas of the plant:

Production Areas: In order to reduce cross-contamination, be sure you have the right hand hygiene products available for use by your employees. Products listed with NSF International indicate your commitment to compliance with federal regulations. Skin-friendly products help encourage use by your employees. Products that have a high efficacy (germ kill) rate ensure that your employees’ hands are cleaned properly. Each process in a food processing plant should be evaluated individually, and the correct product for the job should be implemented. For example, if an area requires high-frequency washing, a mild hand-wash is recommended so employees’ hands do not dry out. If hands are irritated by the soap, employees are less likely to wash. If an area is deemed a higher risk for cross-contamination area, such as packaging RTE products, d both a hand cleaner and recommended.

Office: There is an emerging trend among companies to offer employees programs that address smoking, diabetes, fitness, prenatal care and stress. But, a simpler wellness program should include hand hygiene, which can help stop the spread of germs in the work environment. Germs can live on desktops for several days, and, if your office is like most, it isn’t cleaned and disinfected every evening.Germs that may cause illness are spread when one worker uses another workers’ phone or when employees share work spaces.

The best defense against germs in the workplace is handwashing. However, this is not always convenient. A supplement to a handwashing initiative is an alcohol-based instant hand sanitizer. A recent study has shown that proper hand hygiene products can reduce absenteeism by 21 percent.2

Maintenance

Skin disease is the leading cause of occupational illness and one of the most costly and rapidly expanding medical conditions in the U.S.3 Occupational skin disease, also known as contact dermatitis, is a common condition found in manufacturing plants where workers’ hands come in contact with harsh chemicals, water, solvents and other skin irritants. The best strategy for preventing occupational dermatitis is to maintain the skin’s natural barrier. The first step in prevention is to find and reduce skin risks. The second step is providing workers with appropriate skin care products. Depending on the job, the mildest yet effective cleaner should be used. Each area within the plant should be evaluated based on the skin irritants present. A professional skin conditioner should be placed as allowed throughout the plant. Placement of the products and dispensers is key to getting workers in the habit of using them.

References:

1. Mead PS, Slutsker L, Dietz V, McCaig LF, Bresee JS, Shapiro C, et al. Food-related illness and death in the United States. Emerg Infect Dis 1999; 5:607-17.
2. FedEx Outcome Study Executive Update: Interim Report, July 27, 2004, (unpublished) GOJO Industries, Inc., 90.3% confidence interval.
3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, December 2004.

Dan McElroy is the market development director for food processing at GOJO Industries, Inc. He is a food safety professional with 25 years experience in developing hygiene systems for Food & Beverage processors. Most recently, he served as the 2005 president of the Ohio Chapter of the International Association for Food Protection. He can be reached at 800-321-9647, ext. 6286 or [email protected].