The pandemic brought with it heightened concerns around everything consumers touch, including food. One way to mitigate that risk is through proper hygiene, including handwashing.
Proper hygiene is the first topic ServSafe is addressing with its weekly approach to information-sharing around National Food Safety Month. Weekly themes include personal hygiene (week 1); cleaning and sanitation (week 2); safe food preparation (week 3); food safety procedures (week 4); and COVID-19 safety procedures (week 5).
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, handwashing is one of the best protections to prevent many different kinds of illnesses. And it’s forever a good time to review the basic five steps to proper handwashing. Here’s how to properly wash hands according to ServeSafe:
- Wet hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
- Lather hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of hands, between fingers and under nails.
- Scrub hands for at least 20 seconds.
- Rinse hands well under clean, running water.
- Dry hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
Handwashing remains one of the most important, yet underrated aspects of food safety and personal hygiene.
Here are some additional FE&S stories on this all-important topic:
- Proper handwashing and sanitization efforts played a key role as Crushed Red began serving customers once again during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Operators can mitigate food safety risks by motivating staff to wash their hands properly.
- Data can play a critical role in driving handwashing performance.
