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Hand Care Q and A
Water running into open hands Antimicrobial or Mild Soaps?
On the basis of the available evidence there appears to be no substantive justification for the continued use of the anti-bacterial skin cleanser, since under practical conditions of use this offers no benefits and may actually be counter-productive. Excessive hand washing will also contribute to cross-contamination, due to the damage done resulting in skin that is easily contaminated by transient micro-organisms. A balanced program based on alcohol sanitising rubs and mild liquid soap appears to offer the optimum in hand hygiene. (Chris Packham Enviroderm).
Several studies have found that the use of non-antimicrobial soaps can be nearly as effective. Rotter et al (1999) determined that washing the hands for 30 seconds with a non-antimicrobial soap can achieve up to a 2.8 Log reduction, close to the typical figure of 3 Log achieved when using an antimicrobial soap. Larson et al (2003) also found that there was no difference between the use of an antimicrobial and a non-antimicrobial soap in reducing the bacterial counts on the skin. The most important part of any hand washing procedure is the technique employed and the time spent on it.

Hand Sanitisers – Alcohol or Residual? 
Alcohol has been successfully used for hand disinfection for many years now although there has been the emergence in very recent times of non-alcohol sanitisers which use a biocide as the active ingredient to help reduce bacterial numbers on the skin.
Although alcohol affects our own skin resident flora, it is only a short-term effect as the levels of flora quickly return to normal levels. This action is highly desirable since it is the resident flora (usually harmless to others) that helps our skin develop its ability to withstand colonisation by transient microorganisms.
Conversely, biocides have a longer term effect, thus delaying the return of resident flora to normal levels and hence rendering it more probable that the skin will become colonised by potentially pathogenic transient microorganisms.
Although non-alcohol sanitisers are effective products and have the additional benefit of being attractive to the Muslim community, the long term affects of the biocides to human skin and their presence in the environment are largely unknown. Further research will be required over the forthcoming years to alleviate any concerns with regards to the use of biocides in hand sanitisers.

Hand Drying – Paper Towel versus Air Dryers
In a study by the Food Hygiene Department at Campden BRI the use of paper towels was compared against warm air dryers (Taylor & Kaur 2000). The study showed that there was no significant difference between the two approaches with respect to the amount of bacteria recovered from the hands after washing and drying had finished. The study also concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that warm air dryers contaminate the local atmosphere.

Gloves or Not?
Gloves may be used to protect the product from hand contamination, or to protect the hands from the product. The use of gloves may be seen as providing some sense of security against cross contamination. They can become contaminated as easily as hands and need changing at regular intervals or cleaning.
Typically gloves are changed at each break and after touching dirty surfaces. Gloves used in direct contact with high risk food must be of suitable design and material. Vinyl gloves tend to be the most commonly used type of glove employed in the food industry. Latex gloves are seldom seen now due to the potential of vulnerable users having an allergic reaction. Gloves may be seen as a method of stopping resident bacteria contaminating the food. Studies have shown that if individuals didn’t wash their hands correctly before putting on the gloves microorganisms adhered to the internal and external surfaces of the glove (Adam et al). The integrity of the glove is essential. Test carried out on gloves from five different manufacturers produced the following results:
Vinyl gloves: - 4% had defects, 34% allowed the penetration of bacteria, and 53% failed in use (Korniewicz et al).
Latex gloves: - 2.7% had defects, 20% allowed the penetration of bacteria, and 3% failed in use (Korniewicz et al).
The development of a glove policy is an essential component of the management of personal hygiene in a food manufacturing environment.