The study from the US Department of Agriculture shows that most consumers have not managed to wash their hands and rub themselves with soap for 20 seconds. This is the amount of time recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which says that washing for shorter periods means less germs are removed.
"Many participants in the study also did not wipe their hands with a clean towel.
The study involved 383 people in six experimental kitchen facilities in the Raleigh-Durham subway in North Carolina and in rural Smithfield. , the USDA said.
Bad hand washing practices led to cross-contamination, the study found. About half of the time, participants spread bacteria to spice up containers when preparing burgers, and 11% of the time they spread bacteria on refrigerator handles.
"You can not see, smell or smell Bacteria "Deputy Assistant Secretary for Food Security at the USDA. "By simply washing your hands properly, you can protect your family and prevent bacteria from contaminating your food and key places in your kitchen."
The USDA study results indicate that our Hand washing habits could get worse. A 2013 Michigan State University study found that only 5% of people wash their hands properly.
Step 2: After wetting your hands with water, turn off the tap and apply soap
together with the soap Make sure to lather the back of the hands, between the fingers and under the fingernails
Step 4: Rub the hands for at least 20 seconds. (Sing the song of the # 39; alphabet once or "Happy Birthday" twice.)
Step 5: Rinse hands thoroughly under clean, running water
Step 6: Dry hands with a clean towel or dry A separate study published this month revealed that 49 out of 100 tested towels had of bacteria normally present in or on the human body. This included E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, often called "staphylococcus".
Bacteria were more likely to be found on wet towels and used napkins for more than one purpose, such as wiping out counters and utensils and drying hands, according to L '. study, conducted by researchers from the University of Mauritius.
Proper hand washing is one of the easiest ways to prevent food-borne illnesses, which weigh 48 million Americans each year, according to CDC estimates . This results in approximately 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.