Hand Washing Frequencies and Procedures Used in Retail Food Services

Abstract

Transmission of viruses, bacteria, and parasites to food by way of improperly washed hands is a major contributing factor in the spread of foodborne illnesses. Field observers have assessed compliance with hand washing regulations, yet few studies have included consideration of frequency and methods used by sectors of the food service industry or have included benchmarks for hand washing. Five 3-h observation periods of employee (n = 80) hand washing behaviors during menu production, service, and cleaning were conducted in 16 food service operations for a total of 240 h of direct observation. Four operations from each of four sectors of the retail food service industry participated in the study: assisted living for the elderly, childcare, restaurants, and schools. A validated observation form, based on 2005 Food Code guidelines, was used by two trained researchers. Researchers noted when hands should have been washed, when hands were washed, and how hands were washed. Overall compliance with Food Code recommendations for frequency during production, service, and cleaning phases ranged from 5% in restaurants to 33% in assisted living facilities. Procedural compliance rates also were low. Proposed benchmarks for the number of times hand washing should occur by each employee for each sector of food service during each phase of operation are seven times per hour for assisted living, nine times per hour for childcare, 29 times per hour for restaurants, and 11 times per hour for schools. These benchmarks are high, especially for restaurant employees. Implementation would mean lost productivity and potential for dermatitis; thus, active managerial control over work assignments is needed. These benchmarks can be used for training and to guide employee hand washing behaviors.

Motivating Foodservice Employees to Follow Safe Food Handling Practices: Perspectives From a Multigenerational Workforce

“…Hand washing was one of the practices with the highest out-of-compliance rate with 76% of the full-service restaurants' employees in the study out of compliance. Similar observations for lack of compliance with Food Code hand washing recommendations of "when" and "how" were reported by Strohbehn et al (2008;. For improper holding/time temperature and personal hygiene, findings from the FDA studies indicated that institutions (hospitals and nursing homes) had higher compliance rates than restaurants (quick-service and full-service).…”

“…Trainers must communicate why employees should care about information, as it impacts them personally and the organization. One of the recommendations from Strohbehn et al (2008) is to design training "that includes reasons why proper hand washing and other safe food handling behaviors are important" (p.…”

Assessment of Hygienic Practices and Microbiological Quality of Food in an Institutional Food Service Establishment

“…Food handlers who do not practice proper personal hygiene, including hand washing at appropriate times and using appropriate hand-washing methods, can contaminate foods with organisms from the gastrointestinal tract [64]. Insufficient and inadequate hand washing by employees in retail food service establishments is well known contributing factor to foodborne illnesses [65].…”

Development and Use of an Instrument to Measure Retail Foodservice Employees' Motivation for Following Food Safety Practices

“…While none have labeled their work as mixed methods research, several have in fact utilized combinations of qualitative and quantitative methods. In Strohbehn, Sneed, Paez, and Meyer (2008), foodservice workers were observed and monitored. Observations were tallied and benchmark indicators were developed for hand washing frequency in various foodservice sectors.…”