Issue View | Council I | 2023 Biennial Meeting

This is a brand new Issue.

Re-creation of the Hand Hygiene committee

Foodservice and food processing operators spend considerable time and money training food handling staff to wash their hands, but there is no definition or standard for a clean hand. The Food Code includes definitions for a handwashing sink and a cleaning procedure for washing hands [2-301.12], but there is no standard for a clean hand. Finally, there is only one written process for cleaning hands. Further, given the potential for unintentional or intentional contamination of potable water (e.g., from flooding, aging infrastructure), alternative handwashing or hand cleansing methods are necessary.

Per the CDC's website, washing hands with soap and water could reduce diarrheal deaths by up to 50%; if everyone washed their hands, approximately 1M lives would be saved (https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/fast-facts.html). Handwashing is one of 4 preventive measures CDC lists for prevention of foodborne illness. Current recommendations require a 20 second handwash, which is a challenge for food service operators who, it has been suggested, should wash their hands 29 times per hour (Strobehn et al, 2008). A study of street food vendors found employees were not able to take the time to wash their hands when they had a large number of orders to prepare because of time pressure (Green et al, 2005). The Union of Concerned Scientists article Troubled Waters (Persad et.al, 2020), outlines the challenges with California's water system. Drought, flooding, and an aging infrastructure is putting stress on the water supply, leading to potential shortages, and risk for contamination. There is no reason to believe California is the only state experiencing such issues. Handwashing data from 436,125 foodservice inspections conducted between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2019 indicate 15% of inspections found non-compliance for handwashing sinks (i.e., people could not wash their hands according to the written process) and 13% found non-compliance with handwashing requirements.

The re-creation of a Hand Hygiene Committee with the following charges:

1. Define what is a clean hand, e.g. a two-log bacterial load reduction on the hands.
2. Identify more than one method for effective hand washing when:
   • Potable water is available, and
   • When potable water is not available.
3. Report the Committee's findings and recommendations at the next Biennial Meeting.