A recommendation of “No Action” at the CFP (Conference for Food Protection) can be viewed as a strike out and to continue the baseball metaphor, Handwashing For Life went 0 for 7 on the issues submitted in 2014. We thought at least one would be accepted but all were presented as a foundation for 2016. […]
Michelin 2-Star Norovirus in London
“… staff told to wash their hands more often.” After the closing of another world-class restaurant due to a norovirus outbreak, a piece of world-class food safety advice was passed along by London’s health inspectors as reported in The Guardian newspaper: “Environmental health officers have told staff at the two Michelin star restaurant to wash […]
Fixing Food Code Flaws
Risk vs. Inspection Unintended consequences are many as the FDA’s Model Food Code strives to further protect public health. The operators have prime accountability for serving safe food and the more than 30,000 health inspectors look to help them. Both have the same goal. It can be a team effort and often is. But there […]
Holiday Catered Norovirus
Outbreak Sickens 75 at Minnesota Banquet Might the norovirus have entered the catered event via an ill worker, perhaps symptom-free? Or a guest? Or from contact with a high-touch surface contaminated the week before? One surefire added intervention to protect public health is the expanded use of a norovirus effective alcohol hand sanitizer. The Venetian […]
Norovirus: The Killer & The Cures
Norovirus is not thought of as being a killer nor is it considered long-lived on surfaces. Both are wrong and risky. In the U.S., the virus causes 19-21 million illnesses, 56,000-71,000 hospitalizations and 570-800 deaths.
What Constitutes a Handwash?
Blending available resources into an effective protocol. From a Food Code perspective there is but one handwash. We like to think of it as a minimum and one of perhaps many. Handwashing For Life designates a soap-water 15 second hand wash, with a 2.0 gpm flow of warm water and paper towel drying, as its […]
Patents, Proprietary Resources & The Model Food Code
How should innovation be treated in a regulated environment? SaniTwice® as an alternative protocol for soap/water handwashing was rejected by at least one of the Conference for Food Protection (CFP) Council III delegates because SaniTwice works best with patented Purell VF-481. This is based on its unique effectiveness on norovirus, the leading pathogen in foodborne […]
Norovirus-Focused Handwashing in Restaurants (Part two)
Integrating Noro-effective Hand Sanitizer with Handwashing Routines A cleaning step followed by sanitizing has long been the most effective way to control surface cleanliness. This one-two punch should also be considered for hand hygiene, especially during high flu and norovirus periods. By choosing the products separately, a combination to best match your situation can be […]
Norovirus-Focused Handwashing in Restaurants (Part one)
Defining a safe level for handwashing frequency Norovirus outbreaks commonly raise this question: What is a safe level for handwashing frequency? If we look to the FDA for answers, the Model Food Code wisely avoids getting over prescriptive, considering all the variables. The CDC conducted a valuable observational study using the Model Food Code as […]
2014 The Year of the … Norovirus?
Norovirus or Winter Vomiting Disease. Vomitus or Diarrhea. Fecal or Faecal. Contaminated Hands or Surfaces. Foodborne or Person-to-Person. We hear a lot of conflicting distractions. The six simple truths about norovirus are these: 2013 had a fast start and now 2014 looks potentially bigger.Early in 2013 England and Wales have a total of 3,538 confirmed […]
