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- According to a new USDA study, 97% of us do not wash their hands properly – resulting in cross contamination everywhere in our kitchens and homes.
- Most of us wash our hands. do not kill enough germs – and we often do not use clean towels to dry them.
- Dangerous bacteria, including the dreaded E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, feed on our bad handwashing – both can be serious and even fatal
- Always wash your hands thoroughly CDC guidelines for your best chances of sanitation and disease prevention.
Handwashing is one of the first things you will learn again if you ever take food safety. Sanitation classes – which are a requirement to work in most professional kitchens.
This is because no matter what our parents taught us, almost all of us wash our hands all the time.
Now, we have a quantifiable figure for this nagging suspicion: According to a new study from the US Department of Agriculture, we wash hands collectively incorrectly in 97% of cases.
How we wash badly
You know the exercise: You are in great haste, so you speed up washing your hands. You can use a lot of soap and warm water – but you do it for less than the 20 seconds needed to do anything on the bacteria.
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Also, when was the last time you changed this towel or kitchen? If you can not remember, it is definitely time for a new one. In a study of 383 people spread across six test kitchens in North Carolina, a large number of study participants did not make one or the other of these things properly. .
The study also revealed that after an improper wash during the preparation of the burgers, study participants spread bacteria throughout their kitchen, including jars with spices, countertops and refrigerator door knobs.
This means that even the 3% who washed their hands properly could easily catch the germs spread by the 97% who washed incorrectly.
Why is it so important for food security and general health?
The rules are simple: we can not perceive bacteria to the naked eye.
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Bacteria are naturally present everywhere – but some harmful bacteria, such as E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus – more commonly known as staphylococcus – can cause serious illness and even death. That's why it's so important to wash your hands properly to avoid cross-contamination.
It's just about bacterial contamination and food in your kitchen – no fecal matter, which is also a problem. Sorry, it's about to be disgusting, but it's one of the main reasons why we need to wash our hands better.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, feces can transmit salmonella, E. coli and norovirus. In addition, a single gram of human feces – which you can put in the hands after using the toilet, but also after a diaper change or helping a young child use the bathroom – can contain a very large germ .
When you handle any type of meat, you also greatly increase the risk of spreading bacteria. Working with meat of all kinds – including fish and poultry – requires special attention and care in the way you clean your hands and everything that touches the meat – yes, even if you only do Grill.
How to wash properly, according to the CDC
You should always wash your hands properly, whether or not you handle food. It's a good general practice to live for everyone, young and old.
To wash thoroughly, follow the steps below:
- Wet hands well with clean, running tap water – hot or cold, that's good. Turn off the tap – you will not need it for next steps.
- Apply soap. Lather your hands, paying special attention to the back of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails.
- Take at least 20 seconds to actively rub your hands after foaming. The CDC suggests singing "Happy Birthday" for you if you need a timer, even if you only do it in your head.
- Rinse all the soap from your hands under cleaner running water.
- Use a clean towel to dry your hands – or just let them air dry.
If you are sewing outside and do not have access to running water and clean, the CDC recommends using a hand sanitizer containing at least 60% of the water. Alcohol to clean your hands.
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This is not perfect, and it will not eliminate all types of germs – but it's always better than nothing. Since alcohol can be very drying for the skin, look for a hand sanitizer with the proper amount of alcohol that is also a lotion.
Finally, a word about towels: professional kitchens have strict hygiene rules to follow. One of them is to always use clean towels for everything – as well as having a designated place to store dirty towels so that they can be washed daily.
Although these rules do not exist for home kitchens, it may not be a bad idea to institute something similar for your own peace of mind – especially if you handle any type of meat.
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