Hey You, Wash Those
Hands
Once upon a
time I spent a great deal of time doing the orientation for new employees. I
had to make sure they were aware of this policy, that standard, the usual thing
we have all been thru on a new job. The one thing I always hated was doing the hygiene
lesson. In the beginning, it went something like this. Wash your hands, wash your
hands and what else was it, Oh yea, wash your hands. This usually earned me a
smile or chuckle from the new employee. To be honest, at the time, I felt this
was sufficient. It had never crossed my mind that someone wouldn’t know how to
wash their hands, PROPERLY.
Let’s start
with how to properly wash your hands when dealing with food. First always use soap, a water rinse does very
little to clean microbes from your hands. Wash your hand from the elbow down;
be sure to wash vigorously including between the fingers and back of the
forearm. Don’t forget your nails; the method I use is to scratch each palm with
the nails of the opposite hand. This insures soap gets under the nails. Wash
for at least 30seconds; sing “Happy Birthday” or “The Alphabet Song” in your
head. It may sound silly but it is better than standing there going 1,2,3,4 and
will insure a proper wash. Next, Rinse your hands thoroughly and dry with a
CLEAN towel.
This is
where I have seen the most chefs and cooks fail the system. In a professional kitchen
and in most homes, you always have a towel handy while cooking. I kept on
tucked in the front of my apron at all times. Many times I have watched people
do a wonderful job of washing their hands and then dry them on a dirty towel.
If you do this, guess what, it’s time to wash your hands again.
I know many times in a busy kitchen there
doesn’t seem to be time to wash. This is true whether you are at home cooking
dinner or at work in a restaurant but hand washing is rated as the number 1 way
of preventing the spread of illness. So take the time and Wash Those Hands.
For more information
on this subject please visit: www.cdc.gov/handwashing/
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