Why soap and water hand washing is an integral part of safe food handling

A street food caterer washing hands with a Teal WashStand Xtra

Important considerations for all street food providers…

One of the “best places to start” when considering safe food handling practices and methods is with effective hand hygiene, according to a recent report on the Virtual College website.

Health and safety issues regarding the food handling environment begin with keeping the food preparation area – and the food preparer – clean says the article.

Top of the list of priorities for any caterer is clean hands, which are deemed to be “essential”.

“Before and after any food handling task, you should wash your hands for at least twenty seconds to be sure that there aren’t any harmful substances on them that could contaminate the food or that any contaminants from the food are now present on your hands.”

The WashStand Xtra mobile handwash sink can be used indoors or out
The WashStand Xtra mobile handwash sink can be used indoors or out

Effective hand washing techniques

The article also links to a video How to effectively wash your hands. By completing the task well (for more than 20 seconds) it will help to remove potential contaminants.

The blog article quotes the World Health Organisation’s article Food safety, which includes some very concerning statistics.

“Around the world, an estimated 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people – fall ill after eating contaminated food each year, resulting in 420 000 deaths and the loss of 33 million healthy life years.”

What Is Safe Food Handling? »

The WashStand Xtra is easy to locate for any street food vendor
The WashStand Xtra is easy to locate for any street food vendor

Teal mobile hand wash units – place them wherever they’re needed!

The image above shows the WashStand Xtra mobile handwash unit – which can be deployed indoors or out.

There are vehicle mounted, wall mounted, mains powered and free standing hand wash stations as well as mobile sinks for use with pre-heated hot water.

The Teal range of mobile sinks includes the MediWashHygienius and Hygienius ProWashBigSynkSuper StalletteTEALwashHandeman XtraCompact ClassicHandSpa, CliniWash – and now the new WashStand Xtra.