In just under 2 years 79 percent has reduced to 68 percent
The pandemic focused attention on the need for effective and timely hand washing perhaps more than at any time for a generation. Disappointingly, those newly acquired “good habits” seem to be rapidly diminishing, according to a recent report on the Food Safety News website.
The article by Joe Whitworth presented some stark statistics. A Food Standards Agency (FSA) survey which took place between April 2020 and January 2022, revealed a decline from 79 percent to 68 percent, being the proportion who reported handwashing with soap and warm water “always” or “most of the time”.
The quarterly handwashing tracker was undertaken by Ipsos UK, says the article. In each survey, Ipsos surveyed 2,000 adults aged 16 to 75 living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Over a third of those surveys washed their hands for a duration of 20 – 24 seconds at the start of the survey period, a figure which then disappointingly dropped to 27 percent.
Why soap and water hand washing is vital
Nothing works as well as hand washing when it comes to controlling the spread of infection in a catering scenario.
“Poor hygiene can contribute to foodborne diseases, such as E. coli and norovirus, whilst good hand hygiene can reduce the risks of cross contamination.”
Russell Buhr, MD, PhD, a critical care physician at UCLA Medical Center recently stated
“There’s really no substitute for controlling the spread of viruses to hand washing — nothing we do is going to work as well as that.”
There is no excuse for not providing handwashing facilities – wherever you are
Unavailability of facilities is seen as a commonly occurring problem, writes Whitworth – with them being absent in a worryingly large number of food service establishments.
“Takeaways were most likely to have handwashing facilities unavailable ‘most of the time’, or ‘always’. But they were often also unavailable or unusable in cafes and restaurants, pubs and clubs, at sport and music events and at cinemas and theaters.”
Mobile handwash units can be located wherever they’re needed. Many work as effectively indoors as out.
Which is why preparing and eating food with dirty hands really should be a thing of the past – for caterers and customers alike!
Positive pandemic handwashing trend not maintained, finds FSA »
Teal mobile hand wash units – place them wherever they’re needed!
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 MediWash, Hygienius and Hygienius ProWash, BigSynk, Super Stallette, TEALwash, Handeman Xtra, Compact Classic, HandSpa, CliniWash – and now the new WashStand Xtra.