Our Top 10 handwashing behaviors to beat COVID-19 … and next year’s mutationsEclipsed by Coronavirus media exaggerations and unforgivable politicalization, are the benefits of the public’s emerging better behaviors regarding hand cleanliness. The legacy of the Coronavirus outbreak in the USA is likely to be that it saved more lives than those lost to COVID-19. […]
Pre-Coronavirus Handwashing Investments Pay Off
Handwashing transparency valued by Millennials Those foodservice operators who invested in handwash monitoring because of Norovirus concerns now add another, even more topical and contagious virus to their hit-list, Coronavirus. While these pathogens have many technical differences the two viruses share the property of living on hands and surfaces for a day or more. Coronavirus […]
Foodservice’s Perennial Handwashing Question Answered by Healthcare Research
Data unleashes sustainable solutions Healthcare handwashing research rarely reaches the ranks of restaurant’s food safety and risk management professionals. A recent review of the impact of Electronic Handwash Monitoring in healthcare has answered the question that has held back serious evaluations by the restaurant industry: Handwashing data may increase policy compliance but does it reduce […]
The Engaged Handwasher: Brand Protector #1
Chicago’s recent Food Safety Summit was the latest venue for brand-protecting professionals to gather and assess new technologies. Educational sessions frequently put handwashing under the collaborative microscope and at the top of the list of potential outbreak-reducing actions, following HACCP’s advice to take on the biggest risk first. Similarly, hand hygiene discussions rippled through the […]
The 2018 Norovirus Restaurant Report Card
Symptom vs. Source According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), norovirus continues to be responsible for over 50 percent of foodborne illnesses in the U.S. In recent years, a majority of foodborne norovirus outbreaks occurred in restaurants, often related to an infected employee practicing poor handwashing and subsequently handling food. There is […]
Impress Guests with Staff’s Restroom Handwashing
Crushed Red restaurants have identified a new customer relations builder in their handwash monitoring program. The public is quite surprised and impressed when a staff member steps to the restroom hand sink and speaks their name into a voice-recognized handwash system. Their handwash is recorded, assuring this cleanliness policy is met throughout the day. “Wow. […]
Thanksgiving’s Top 10 Tips For Healthy Hands & Wellness
Thanksgiving, the eater’s favorite holiday. Ours always starts on Wednesday with a little pre-prep and gathering last minute supplies. As joyous the occasion, it’s also a special feast day for bacteria and virus, particularly for salmonella and norovirus – the poster children for holiday pain. Staying well can make the difference between a memory of […]
When 99.99% Isn’t Enough
Hand sanitizer is everywhere these days; there are modern looking spheres in hospitals and restaurants, they come in foam and gel and, especially at Bath and Body Works, they come in a plethora of scents. Everywhere you turn there is hand sanitizer, which is usually good for killing germs and bacteria on your hands, 99.99% […]
A New Potential Legal Risk For Poor Handwashing
The “Readily Available” Principle Immersion into the topic of hand hygiene to reduce operational risk has surfaced yet another incentive to improve handwashing process control. Operators know their handwashing rates are low and now they may be open to a charge of negligence should an outbreak be identified. In Foodservice, including in the kitchens of […]
Norovirus in Healthcare
Don’t disregard a hand sanitizer that works Rubs are chastised for their ineffectiveness on norovirus yet research has identified one that proves the critics wrong. Formulation and process matters. Where the threat level of norovirus rises, caregivers may choose one or both these options. First, the formulation. Its trade name is Purell – 481. This […]