Colorado State University Extension
SafeFood Rapid Response Network


SafeFood Newsletter - Winter 1996/1997 - Vol. 1, No. 2

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Handwashing: Becoming a Lost Art

Handwashing is basic. It's considered the single most important means of preventing the spread of infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It's also something we all should have learned by the time we got out of kindergarten.

Unfortunately, handwashing appears to be well on its way to becoming a lost art in this country if recent studies are any indication. This is a concern for public health officials, since poor handwashing is believed to be a contributing factor in the 80 million cases of foodborne illness and 10,000 resulting deaths that occur each year.

It seems we know we should be washing our hands, but we aren't actually doing it. This goes for food service workers, daycare providers, and consumers alike.

In one study an electronic handwashing verification system was used to track handwashing among employees in restaurants, grocery stores, institutional food service and healthcare locations. Results showed that employees washed their hands less than two times per day. When the conductors of the study, the Compliance Control Center, showed the data to employees and management, handwashing compliance increased by over 380 percent. However, when the feedback ended, employee handwashing fell back to dangerous levels.

In a study of childcare facilities reported in the Journal of Infectious Diseases in Children, fecal coliforms were detected on the hands of some 20 percent of the daycare staff evaluated. Further, a third of the facilities studied had poor handwashing systems and no policy for handwashing before eating or after playing outside.

The most telling study of all, though, is one recently conducted by the American Society for Microbiology. In a telephone survey of over 1,000 adults, 94 percent reported always washing their hands when using a public restroom. Yet observers reported that nearly a third of those observed did not wash their hands after using the bathroom. Women were somewhat more likely than men to wash up (74 versus 61 percent), but neither came close to what they said they did.

Bayer Pharmaceutical, which sponsored the research because of the concern that inadequate handwashing fuels the emergence of bacterial resistance, has developed a brochure, "Don't Get Caught Dirty Handed," and reminder stickers for placement in bathrooms. For a free set, call toll free: 1-888-972-2937.

Source: Food Protection Report, October 1996; Infectious Diseases in Children, July 1991.

Updated Monday, August 29, 2011