Boost hand hygiene
February 1st 2004 Brian Parkinson of SCA Hygiene Products looks at the different issues to consider when equipping the washroom of a food factory compared with the washrooms in other industrial plants.
The washrooms of all industrial plants are designed to cater for large numbers of users many of them with dirty hands. Washroom managers therefore equip their loos with the most economical and functional products they can. But there is a difference between the types of products required for general industrial washrooms and those in high-care industries such as food processing.
One thing that both types of industry have in common is the need to avoid cross-contamination. Employees in heavy industries may have hands coated with grease or ink, while food industry workers could have potentially dangerous bacteria on their hands. In both cases the aim is to remove the soiling before it can be transferred to others.
Textile towels and bars of soap would obviously not be suitable in either case since these would quickly become soiled. Contact with dispensers should also be kept to a minimum if transference of grime or bacteria is to be avoided. Automatic soap dispensers or those with an arm lever are ideal, as are towel systems that ensure that each towel is touched only by the user.
In dirty industries such as mechanical engineering, automotive and printing, handwashing facilities should be serviceable and thorough while catering for a high throughput of users. Soaps should be mild and possibly perfumed to mask the pungent smells of solvents and other industrial fluids. In the food industry a mild soap is also required, but here it should be non-perfumed to avoid food spoilage and in some cases an antibacterial action may be preferred.
The ideal hand towel system in heavy industry should be a high volume, economical choice. SCAs suggestion is Tork Matic, a long-lasting semi-automatic system that cuts the roll inside the dispenser and ensures that each towel is touched only by the user. Tork Matic is available in Plus and Standard versions. Another good, economical option is a zigzag-fold towel such as Tork Classic Plus or Tork Classic Standard. Again the towels are dispensed one at a time and although each dispenser holds fewer towels than the Tork Matic-Box, Tork Classic can be topped up at any time.
In food processing plants hygiene is of paramount importance and frequent handwashing is necessary. Soiling on the hands will not be as visible here as in heavy industries - but it can be more lethal. The need for good hand hygiene in the food industry should be a matter of common knowledge, but sadly this is not always so. One food industry study found that 12 per cent of food workers had listeria spp on their hands, in almost every case due to inefficient handwashing. Another study revealed that 60 per cent of food service personnel did not wash their hands after using the toilet.
These omissions can be potentially life-threatening. Pathogens that can be transmitted through poor hand hygiene include E. coli 0157:H7 which can cause abdominal cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting and death; listeria which causes flu-like symptoms, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea; and salmonella which can cause diarrhoea, chills and fevers.
In order to promote good hand hygiene among food workers, user-friendly handwashing facilities should be supplied. Plenty of hand basins, soap dispensers and hand drying facilities should be available for those people too impatient to queue. Good hand drying facilities are particularly important because damp hands can transmit 500 times as much bacteria as dry hands. Also, the action of rubbing the hands on a towel produces friction that removes the upper layer of dead skin particles - and the bacteria living on it.
Soft towels are highly recommended because these promote better hand hygiene than harsher alternatives. Abrasive towels can cause chapping and soreness which discourages people from washing their hands. The National Health Service where hygiene is critical - has been so convinced by this argument that it has dropped six of its abrasive hand towels in favour of softer alternatives.
Toilet tissue systems in all industrial washrooms should be a high volume system which can be topped up when required. And all dispensers should be easy to clean with no sharp corners where dirt or bacteria could collect. Finally, washrooms in any industry whether heavy industry or food should be well maintained and frequently cleaned. This helps keep down the risks of cross-contamination even further. More articles from SCA Hygiene Products UK Ltd: | 
