Handwashing 101: Essential tips to prevent foodborne illness

It’s no secret that handwashing is an incredibly undervalued, “forgotten,” and incorrectly performed procedure despite its proven efficacy in protecting people from disease. In fact, practicing good personal hygiene - including handwashing - is revered as the number one prevention mechanism for several of the most contagious and symptomatic foodborne illnesses, like Norovirus, Hepatitis A, and Shigellosis.

Since people cannot avoid food, it is vital to practice proper, consistent handwashing. Here are five helpful handwashing tips to keep people and their kitchens safe year-round:

1. Handwash often

Simply washing one’s hands before and after cooking will not cut it. While cooking, hands should be washed after using the restroom, touching the body or clothing, eating or drinking, using electronic devices, and handling raw meat, among other things. Long story short, hands should be washed whenever a food handler changes tasks, leaves the kitchen, or handles raw food.

2. Scrub everywhere

When washing hands, it is important to scrub all parts of the hands and wrists, including underneath fingernails, between fingers, and around cuticles. Furthermore, jewelry and watches worn on the wrists should be removed before cooking and handwashing. Pathogens can easily hide in the crevasses of hands, nails, and jewelry. When people ignore these tricky areas, those hidden pathogens can still spread and contaminate food. 

3. Don’t cut the clock short

When done properly, handwashing should take at least 20 seconds, 10 to 15 of which should be specifically spent scrubbing with soap. To ensure the 20-second requirement is fulfilled, try singing/humming the “Happy Birthday” song twice while handwashing.

4. Hand sanitizer does not equal handwashing

Despite its claims of killing 99.99% of germs, hand sanitizer is NOT an appropriate substitute for handwashing. However, there is still a place for hand sanitizer in the kitchen. When used after proper handwashing, hand sanitizer can help further reduce the number of pathogens on the skin to safe levels.

5. Warm water for the win

Warmer water helps to better remove pathogens from the skin. When handwashing, water should be at least 100F, or slightly warmer than body/skin temperature. Although it may take a few extra seconds for water to warm up when the faucet is turned on, the reduced risk of foodborne illness is worth those few seconds. When drying hands, the friction produced by paper towels also helps to reduce the presence of viruses on the skin.

Handwashing is one of the easiest ways to protect against foodborne illnesses. But in order to reap its benefits, people must be deliberate about proper handwashing. With Global Handwashing Day on October 15, now is the perfect time to make proper handwashing and protection from foodborne illness a lifelong force of habit.

Samantha Towers is a junior in the dietetics program at Central Michigan University. To learn more about the Nutrition and Dietetics program and course offerings, please contact program director Dr. Najat Yahia at yahia1n@cmich.edu.