During the COVID 19 pandemic, there were reports of panic buying of alcohol hand gel. Soap and warm water are the most effective way to wash your hands correctly. Hand sanitiser only works if your hands are already clean.
More tips about washing your hands correctly
I am sure that as a responsible food business owner or consumer, that you and your team wash your hands regularly. Did you know that if you put liquid soap on your hands, then wet them,a lot of the soap will be washed away before it has a chance to work? The best way is to wet your hands, add soap and then wash them before rinsing and drying using paper towels. Naturally if there is no other way of drying your hands, a warm air dryer is better than wet hands, as wet hands transfer cross contamination more effectively than dry hands.
Fun fact: the best time to wash your hands is to do it for a minimum of 20 seconds.. or singing Happy Birthday twice. (Sing in your head if you aren’t confident in your voice.)
My favourite alternatives to Happy Birthday to sing as you wash your hands are the chorus from Stayin Alive by the BeeGees or Raspberry Beret by Prince.
If you have any questions, email me at louise@alimenti.co.uk. If you enjoyed the article and want to keep up to speed with food safety, sign up here.
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