If you have been following this blog for a while, you know that we are big on hand washing. It is an easy but essential action to take in food safety. In this post, we will look into why hand washing it is so important, when should one hand wash and products to help you develop a proper hand washing practice.

So Why Do We Emphasise Hand Washing?

We are surrounded by bacteria. The air we breath, the clothes we were and even on our skin, thousands of bacteria are around us. Most of them are harmless, but there are the occasional few that can cause much grief to us humans. These ‘transient bacteria’ can be picked up on our skin from sick people or animals or contaminated food. By using proper hand washing methods, one can eliminate the transient bacteria on your skin.

When Should We Wash My Hands?

As people who are given the responsibility to prepare food, you should be ready to wash your hands at the following times;

After touching bare human body parts
After using the bathroom
After handling support animals
After coughing, sneezing, using a handkerchief or disposable tissue, smoking, eating or drinking
After handling soiled equipment
Immediately before food preparation
During food preparation
After engaging in other activities that contaminate

The Proper Hand Washing Method

It is important that you not only wash your hands but also exposed portions of your arms with a cleaning compound in a basin that provides at least 43ºC by rubbing you lathered hands and arms for at least 20 seconds. You must thoroughly rinse them in clean water. Places to watch out for are underneath fingernail and between fingers.

Fun Facts About Germs (that will encourage you to wash your hands…)

Germs are alive
Germs are all around us
Germs are so small that you can’t see them without a microscope
Germs get on your hands from different things you touch
Germs can ride up from your hands to your face
Germs can enter your body through your mouth, nose and even through your skin
Some germs can make you sick…or dead
Soap and water can help get rid of germs

Now what?

So after that frightening image of what germs can do to you, it is time to put that fear in place and wash those hands. Lucky for you, OnSolution might just have the tools to help you and your business find ways to develop the perfect hand washing technique.

Hand Washing Timer

This small device has n LCD display and countdown timer with alarm sound when rinse cycle is completed. This will leave plenty of time for the user to pump soap, lather up, and finish washing and rinsing under the water for the remaining 20 second minimum. The user should then turn off the water shielding their clean hands with the paper towel they had just used to dry their hands. This leads to the user not touching anything except sterile utensils and equipment after they have washed their hands. Interested? Click here to find the product.

GlitterBug

How effective is your current hand washing method? Find out with GlitterBug! Just squirt some onto your hands, rub it in and try to wash it off. Any residue will glow under a UV light. What you see might shock you. Want to try it? Find the product here!

Deb InstaFoam

If you are on the go and do not have the right facilities to wash your hands, InstaFoam might be your answer! It is an alcohol-based hand cleanser and sanitiser which is dispensed as a foam into your hands. It is fast acting and highly effective, killing 99.999% of most common germs and helping to reduce the spread of germs. Get it by clicking here!

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