Does Temperature Really Matter when Washing your Hands?
In January, I reviewed the changes to the 2022 Food Code in my blog (check out Part I and Part II), and one change to the food code that I had mentioned, but didn’t discuss in-depth, was the change that lowered the water temperature a hand sink was required to produce to 85°F, as noted in Section 2-202.12 of the code. This requirement has been in place since the publishing of the 2001 Food Code, which required a water temperature of 100°F. Prior to this, 110°F was required (see the 1999 Food Code). So why the change and does water temperature when washing your hands really matter?
The change started long before the 2022 edition was being developed. In 2010, the Conference for Food Protection had recommended changing the temperature to 85°F, but when the supplement to the 2009 Food Code was later released, the revision was not included.
As you look at the relationship between hand washing efficacy and water temperature…what we had always believed to be true was not supported by the research.
Growing up in the foodservice business, I had always heard the phrase “as hot as you can handle” when it came to the correct temperature to wash your hands. Many believe that the magical temperature at which hand washing should occur was 100°F. However, that is simply the water temperature that a hand washing sink should reach per the FDA Model Food Code, not necessarily the temperature at which you must wash your hands.
A few years ago, when we were getting ready to explore employee hand washing behavior as part of our research, this “requirement” came up as a discussion point among our research team as we were developing our observation rubrics. After digging into it, we realized that most resources online only said potable water, with no temperature requirement. Our team explored the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization and reviewed the food code to determine what was recommended and required. Outside of finding that food code required water at the sink to be a minimum of 100°F, there was no requirement to wash your hands at a certain temperature and no mention that a higher temperature was necessary.
The more we explored the topic, the more we found that what we had always believed to be true was not supported by the research. Michaels and his colleagues published data in 2001 that concluded that water temperature had no effect on the level of bacterial reduction when using nonantibacterial soap. A follow-up study published by Michaels and another group of researchers in 2002 found similar results, but also noted that the higher water temperatures resulted in skin irritation and loss of water content, a complaint that has often arisen as a frequent barrier to hand washing in the foodservice industry.
Temperature is important because we want out employees to be comfortable washing their hands, so warm water at the hand washing sink is important. But if water temperature is not important in bacterial reduction on the hands, what is? A quality soap, friction (time), and rinsing. Encourage your employees to do these steps and they can help protect your business and themselves from food handler contamination.
I must close with my usual disclaimer when talked about the updated food code – be sure to follow your local food code. Although the 2022 Model Food Code has been released, most jurisdictions are still operating on older versions of the code, and it is important to know the specific requirements in your area. Risk Nothing.
Foodborne Illness Myths & Facts
“It must have been something I ate.” That’s the typical statement when a person develops some relatively minor symptoms from food. Maybe not severe enough to go to the doctor so you choose to tough it out without medical care. Sudden onset of flu-like symptoms such as onset of stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting and fever could possibly mean you are the victim of a foodborne illness. The illness is sometimes referred to as “food poisoning”, but it’s often misdiagnosed.
Don’t Compromise: Clean and Sanitize
The subject is cleaning and sanitizing. Chefs, food service directors, managers and staff try to practice safe food-handling at every turn in the kitchen. Don’t let that effort go down the drain by slacking off on the many aspects of sanitation. That includes dish and ware-washing techniques (pots, pans, equipment), and cleaning all the areas that give us that “neat as a pin” appearance in your customers eyes. Customers seldom fail to bring that soiled silverware or glass with lipstick on it to the attention of the manager or wait staff. Improperly cleaning and sanitizing of food contact equipment does allow transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to food and ultimately our customer.
The Route to Safer Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Although fruits and vegetables are one of the healthiest foods sources in our diet, we continue to have foodborne disease outbreaks of significance from produce, sometimes affecting large groups of people in multiple states because of their wide distribution. The CDC estimates that fresh produce now causes a huge number of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States. Produce needs our continued food safety efforts at the restaurant level as well as at the stages in agricultural production. Occasionally, fresh fruits and vegetables can become contaminated with harmful bacteria or viruses, such as Salmonella, E. coli 0157:H7, Norovirus, and Hepatitis A. This contamination can occur at any point from the field to our table. If eaten, contaminated fruits and vegetables can cause foodborne illness.
Be Cool, Chill Out, Refrigerate Promptly!
The Cold Chain -- Keeping perishable foods at proper cold holding temperatures (between 28°F and 41°F maximum or 0°F for frozen food) from your food producers / manufacturers to your customers has to be one of our strongest links to safe food and high quality. Sometimes that is referred to in the food industry as “maintaining the COLD CHAIN”. Any slip ups in the cold chain, and we have a weak link. Most all of our state food regulations require 41°F as a cold maximum, but colder is a “best practice” policy to maintain.
