1. L A U R A S I M O N I T C H
B . S . U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E B R A S K A - L I N C O L N
D I E T E T I C I N T E R N , M S S T U D E N T
U N I V E R S I T Y O F K A N S A S M E D I C A L C E N T E R
Hand Hygiene and Food
Safety Review

2. Introduction
 According to the US Centers for Disease Control,
"Hand-washing is the single most important means
of preventing the spread of infection."
 Up to 40% of all foodborne illness outbreaks are
because of poor hand washing and cross-
contamination.

3. Introduction
 Over 76 million estimated cases of food poisoning
occur in the United States alone every year
 325,000 hospitalizations
 5,000 deaths
 $7.6 billion: amount that the US spends each year on
health care and lost productivity because of
foodborne illness

4. Four food safety principles
Clean
Separate
Cook
Chill

5. Clean
 Cutting boards
 Utensils
 Countertops
 Reusable grocery bags
 Foods
 Preparing raw animal products or raw produce

6. Hand-washing
 Wet hands with clean, warm running water and
apply soap.
 Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all
parts of the hands for 20 seconds.
 Rinse hands well under running water.
 Dry hands using a clean paper towel. If possible, use
a paper towel to turn off the faucet.

7. Surfaces
 Washed with hot, soapy water
 Inside of microwave
 Inside of refrigerator
 Throw away leftovers after 4 days
 Raw and ground meats after 1-2 days

8. Foods
 Rinse Vegetables and Fruits
 Exception: prepackaged lettuce or baby carrots
 Do NOT use soap or detergent
 Important to rinse because of microbes that can
travel from outside of produce to inside
 Firm produce can be scrubbed with a produce brush
 Dry produce with a clean cloth/paper towel to
further reduce bacteria
 No need to rinse raw seafood, meat, and poultry

9. Separate
 Ready-to-eat from raw
 Should occur at every step of food handling
 Purchase preparation serving
 Store raw seafood, meat, and poultry below ready-to-
eat foods
 Clean reusable grocery bags (soapy water for plastic
bags or washing machine for canvas/cloth bags)
 Clean cutting boards

10. Cook and Chill
 Cook to safe temperatures that destroy harmful
microbes
 Food thermometer: place in thickest part of food
 Hold cold foods at 40◦F or below
 Keep hot foods at 140◦F or above
 Food temperature danger zone: 40-140◦F
 Thawing methods: refrigerator, cold water,
microwave
 Never on the counter

11. Bacteria
 Single-celled
 Rigid wall and a thin, rubbery membrane
surrounding the fluid or cytoplasm inside the cell
 Shaped like balls, rods, or spirals
 Contain all of the genetic information needed to
make copies of themselves
 Can survive in a variety of environments, including
extreme heat and cold, radioactive waste, and the
human body.

12. Bacteria
 Most bacteria are harmless
 Lactobacilli acidophilus bacteria that can live in the human
intestine -- actually help digest food, destroy disease-causing
microbes, fight cancer cells, and provide essential nutrients.
 Fewer than 1% of bacteria cause disease in people.

13. Virus
 The largest of them are smaller than the smallest bacteria
 Varied shapes
 Have a protein coat and a core of genetic material: either RNA
or DNA
 Unlike bacteria, viruses can't survive without a host
 They can only reproduce by attaching themselves to cells and hijacking
the cells' cellular machinery
 Usually reprogram the cells to make new viruses until the cells burst and
die. In other cases, they turn normal cells into malignant or cancerous
cells.
 Most viruses do cause disease, and are specific about the cells
they attack
 Certain viruses are programmed to attacks cells in the liver, respiratory
system, or blood

14. Spreading of Infection
 Coughing and sneezing
 Contact with contaminated people, like through
kissing
 Contact with contaminated surfaces, food, and water
 Contact with contaminated household pets,
livestock, and insects such as fleas and ticks

15. Listeria monocytogenes
 Processed, ready-to-eat products (undercooked hot
dogs, deli/lunchmeats, unpasteurized dairy
products)
 Cross-contamination between food surfaces
 Hand-washing important!
 Mild fever, headache, vomiting
 Can begin 2-30 days after exposure and duration
varies

16. Campylobacter jejuni
 Top source of foodborne illness
 Caused by eating raw milk and raw/undercooked
meat, shellfish, or poultry
 Hand-washing is important for prevention
 2-5 days after exposure (lasts 2-10 days)
 Diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramping

17. Cryptosporidium parvum
 Caused by contaminated food from poor hand
hygiene
 Lasts 2-10 days after infected
 Watery stools, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, slight
fever, stomach cramps

18. Norovirus
 Foods contaminated by either direct contact with
contaminated hands or work surfaces contaminated with
stool or vomit or by tiny droplets form nearby vomit that
can travel through air to land on food
 Common on cruise ships
 Raw, undercooked meat, poultry, fish, eggs,
unpasteurized dairy, unwashed fruits/vegetables
 Prevent by thorough cooking, proper sanitation, and
hygiene
 Occurs 12-48 hours after ingestion of virus
 Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea (sometimes violent),
headache, fever/chills, muscle aches

19. Staphylococcus aureus
 Cooking does not destroy toxins in meat, pork, eggs,
poultry, tuna salad, prepared salads, gravy…
 Hand-washing very important for prevention!!
 Nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping
 Begins within 1-6 hours after exposure and lasts 1-2
days

20. Yersinia enterocolitica
 Caused by raw/undercooked pork products, tofu,
pasteurized milk
 Cold storage does NOT kill the bacteria
 Hand-washing important!
 Fever, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea
 1-2 days after exposure, lasts 1-3 weeks or longer

21. Most common surface areas for pathogens
 Picnic tables
 Playgrounds
 Airport bathrooms
 Hotel rooms (TV remote)
 Airline bathrooms (tiny sink)

22. Glo Germ experiment
 http://www.glogerm.com/

23. Post-test
Questions?

24. References
 http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?a
rticlekey=50297
 http://www.anapsid.org/handwash1.html
 http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/bacterial-
and-viral-infections
 Krause’s Food and the Nutrition Care Process
textbook, 13th ed.
 Appendix 3: Food safety principles and guidance for
consumers. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Food Safety Web site. 2010.