From our e-mail bag:

“I’m struggling with getting my kitchen staff to understand and practice hand washing. The last three times the Health Department came, I was cited for a critical violation, and now I must ensure that everyone understand hand washing before I am inspected next time. Do you have any suggestions?” - Larry, restaurant owner, New York

Larry, you are dealing with a common issue that many people in the restaurant industry don’t realize is very important.

First, let’s go through a couple of basics.

1. Here’s how to wash your hands: Start with hot water (generally we say, “As hot as you can stand,” but temp-wise, it should be around 110˚ F/38 ˚ C). Place your hands into the water stream. Wet your fingers, hands, and wrists (exposed part of the arms). Lather with a lotion or foam soap, and scrub (including between the fingers) for 15 to 20 seconds. How long is 20 seconds? Try singing “Happy Birthday to You” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” TWICE. Counting “One Mississippi, two Mississippi” also works. If you are allowed to use a fingernail brush (follow your health department’s regulation), use it as needed. Rinse hands under running water. Dry your hands with a paper towel - not your hat, apron, uniform, pants, or anything else!

2. When should you wash your hands? “Food handlers should wash their hands whenever they contaminate their hands.” But what does that mean? It depends on your operation, but here are some basics. Wash your hands:

-When you first come to work
-After you use cleaning chemicals or have handled trash
-Whenever you change your gloves
-When you return from eating, drinking, or using the bathroom
-When you change your task, i.e., moving from one raw product to another (beef to chicken), moving from doing dishes to cooking on the line, etc.
-After handling raw Potentially Hazardous Foods (PHFs) and before handling anything ready to eat (RTE)
-After touching your face, hair, eyes, or mouth
-After coughing or sneezing into your hands

While this list is not complete, it’s a start. Feel free to add to it as you need to!

Now to the root of your question: How do you get your employees to wash their hands?

1. Set the expectations. For all new employees, on the first day of orientation, review the steps for hand washing and emphasize when and how they should wash their hands. Do the same thing at a meeting for the existing staff. It wouldn’t hurt to push this a little more with existing staff, since it has been a problem. Be sure everyone who works for you and with you knows that hand washing is NOT optional!

2. Coach daily. Depending on your management style, it is usually very effective to observe a behavior and coach immediately. If a prep cook takes the trash out and comes back to the prep area without washing, point it out and ask the cook to wash his/her hands. Correct it as soon as you see it happen. Waiting until the shift or the day is over will not help the cook realize the mistake – and it certainly won’t help the food prepared on that shift, either.

3. Use signs and posters. All hand sinks should have posted signs to let people know what the sink is for. However, additional posters and signs can help. You can make your own, or use products available from different sites. We’ll link to a few at the end of this blog entry.

4. Show your staff why hand washing is so important! A product called Glo Germ can actually show the effectiveness of proper hand washing. The food handlers put a special lotion on their hands; the manager shines a black light on their hands, and the “germs” light up. The food handlers then go to the hand sinks and wash their hands properly. The manager shines the black light again, and – presto! The “germs” are reduced – or gone! Many educators and health department officials use this to teach effective hand-washing skills. The Glo Germ website is: http://www.glogerm.com.

5. Set the example. “Do as I say, not as I do” never holds weight when it comes to getting employees to buy into good practices. But you know that. So make sure you are washing your hands whenever appropriate! Nothing is more embarrassing (or hurts your credibility as a manager more) than having an employee say, “Well, you didn’t!”

If you make hand washing (or anything related to food safety) a bigger “piece of the pie” in your daily routine right now, eventually it will become a smaller focus as your food handlers begin to demonstrate good habits regularly.

The best advice I have for you, Larry, is to make sure you spend time each day talking about hand washing – and do it because it’s the right thing to do, not because the health department said so!

Have a question or topic you’d like us to cover? Shoot it to us at info@C4FL.com. Wash your hands first, please. (Ha Ha)

Here’s a link to a hand washing sign: Click Here to go to E-Tundra.