Food Safety Education |
FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition |
September 1998*
|
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service |
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HANDWASHING-RELATED RESEARCH FINDINGS
Wirthlin Worldwide, an international research firm, conducted a Handwashing Observational and Telephone Survey in August 1996
for the Bayer Corporation Pharmaceutical Division, in association
with the American Society for Microbiology. Among their findings:
- People do not wash their hands as often as they think they do. Wirthlin's
telephone survey found that 94% of respondents (1004 adults) claimed they always
wash up after using the restroom. The observational survey viewed 6333
adults in public restrooms in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans and San
Francisco (3236 males and 3097 females) and found that only 68%, in fact, did so.
- Women washed their hands more often than men (74% versus 61%).
- The telephone survey found that people are most likely to say they wash their
hands after changing a diaper (78%) and before handling or eating food (81%).
Questioned about other activities, far
fewer said they washed their hands after petting an animal (48%), coughing
or sneezing (33%), or handling money (22%).
For more information call Barbara Hyde or Jim Sliwa at ASM, (202) 942-9206;
or Don Hyman of Bayer Pharmaceutical Division, (203) 812-6545.
- A study of 305 Detroit school children found that youngsters who washed
their hands four times a day had 24% fewer sick days due to respiratory
illness, and 51% fewer days lost because of stomach
upset. Under the supervision of Dr. Susan Longe (then at Providence Hospital
and Medical Centers, Southfield, MI) teachers in six classrooms had children
wash their hands on arrival, before lunch, after recess, and
before leaving for the day. The students' sick days for a 37-day period were
compared to eight other classrooms that did not have scheduled handwashing.
Although the handwashing reduced sick days, it had no effect
on visits to the doctor, prescription or OTC drug use, or
parents' loss of time at work.
Reported by Reuters New Media, 12/10/96
- A review of surveillance data for U.S. foodborne disease outbreaks over a
five-year period (1988 - 1992) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
found that, of 2874 outbreaks, contributing factors were reported in 1435
and that poor personal hygiene was a contributing factor in
over a third (514) of them.
Nancy H. Bean et al., Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 60, No.
10, 1997; 1265-1286
- Plain hand soaps, antimicrobial hand soaps, E2 rated hand soaps (a USDA
Classification requiring equivalency to 50 parts per million chlorine), and
instant hand sanitizers were evaluated for their
effectiveness in reducing bacteria on hands. Results showed that all three
types of hand soaps were effective, when using a 20-second wash procedure,
in reducing bacteria on hands, with the E2 soaps
significantly more effective than the other two types of soaps. The instant
hand sanitizers resulted in a significant increase in bacterial numbers on hands.
Mary L. Miller et al., Dairy, Food and Environmental Sanitation,
Vol. 14, No. 3, 1994; 155-160
* Distributed July 1998 for use in September 1998 as part
of the International Food Safety Council's
National Food Safety Education Month.
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Hypertext updated by dms 1998-JUL-30