Tag Archives: Hygiene

Bathroom instructions for men and women

Posted on by
Reply

How to properly use a public bathroom continues to be a source of mystery to many. Many proprietors have found it necessary to issue reminders regarding proper use of facilities, and to explain the difference between men and women, which may account for different levels of publicly observed handwashing compliance.

(A post on foodsafe-l last night attempts to explain that “When women use the restroom it is a more septic process than when men urinate. Women need to wash their hands more frequently than men.”)

650 sick with norovirus on cruise ship

Posted on by
Reply

A luxury cruise liner which has been plagued by outbreaks of norovirus has been forced to cut short its latest voyage after hundreds of passengers were struck down by the bug.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines admitted three passengers were currently in isolation on the Boudicca, but those travelling on the vessel claim as many as 650 of the 900 people onboard have been affected by the norovirus.

It is the sixth time in just sixth months that the ship has suffered problems with the bug, which causes sickness and diarrhea.

Boudicca was on the final leg of a 23-night cruise to the eastern Mediterranean, but has cancelled stops in Malta and Lisbon to dock two days early in Liverpool next week.

KFC admits hygiene breaches at UK branch

Posted on by
1

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is now food safety quality assured. See, it says so on this lid from a bucket of grease.

But today, the chain admitted breaching hygiene rules at one of the busiest branches in Britain, telling a hearing at City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court, in central London it had inadequate pest control at a branch in Leicester Square, central London.

Environmental health inspectors from City of Westminster Council said cockroaches, mice and flies were found during an inspection of the premises in Coventry Street on August 15 last year.

KFC said it also admitted failing to provide hygienic facilities for handwashing and failing to keep the restaurant clean and in good order during today’s hearing.
 

A journey through the past: Tipton Slasher edition

Posted on by
Reply

The Internet is useful for all sorts of things beyond food safety – it’s been a boon for genealogy research.

Which is how we ended up meeting with Carl yesterday at The Fountain Inn in Tipton, U.K., not far from Birmingham.

At one point Carl asked, “So what do you think of it over here?”

“Oddly comfortable.”

Carl got in touch with me electronically after I posted something about William Perry, aka The Tipton Slasher, who was the bare-knuckle heavyweight boxing champ of England from 1850-1857.

Carl, who is descended from one of William Perry’s brothers, had detailed genealogies, constructed from birth and wedding certificates from the area. Tipton’s favorite son, the Slasher, had a son, William Perry II, who had a daughter, Sally or Sarah (she was called both), who married George Edward Powell I. They had a son, George Edward Powell II, who was my grandfather (and there’s nothing noble about the I and II; as cousin Keith said, they were grafters, which in Brit-speak means hard workers). So I got it wrong before, and the Slasher was my great-great-great grandfather.

Sorenne and I posed in front of the statue of gramps in the park across from the Fountain Inn, which was the Slasher’s headquarters and training site before he became champ, and adjacent to one of the many canals constructed in the early 1800s to feed the industrial machine that was Birmingham. Perry started fighting fellow boatmen on the local canals to determine who would be first through the lockgates.

And while we were too early for food, the Fountain Inn did proudly display its food license and level II catering certificate. The slideshow below has lots of cool pics.

CHUCK DODD: Eating dirt can be bad for you

Posted on by
1

New York Times journalist Jane Brody suggests that eating dirt is an instinctive behavior in humans. In her article, Eating dirt can be good for you – just ask babies, she interviewed researchers who think people should eat dirt in order to stimulate their immune system.  Brody says that immune system disorders such as asthma and allergies have risen significantly in the United States. 

Although allergies do appear to be on the rise, the awareness of allergies, the ability to diagnose allergies, and the number of people at risk (the U.S. population) have also risen significantly. 

The director of gastroenterology and hepatology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Dr. Joel Weinstock, said in the interview,

"There are very few diseases that people get from worms. Humans have adapted to the presence of most of them. … Children should be allowed to go barefoot in the dirt, play in the dirt, and not have to wash their hands when they come in to eat…let kids have two dogs and a cat, which will expose them to intestinal worms that can promote a healthy immune system.”

Dr. Weinstock, I’m sure glad you aren’t my doctor. 

I agree that immune systems are naturally stimulated by various exposures to the environment, and that Americans use too many antibacterial products, but I question Dr. Weinstock’s knowledge of zoonotic diseases.  Intestinal parasites from animals that infect humans, since many are not adapted to humans, often leave the intestines and migrate through the body.  There are approximately 10,000 human cases of larva migrans in the U.S. each year.  Unfortunately, most of these cases are in children, and a few of these kids die.

Eating dirt is an instinct?  Not for me.  Babies eat dirt because they don’t know better.  Some may think that bad behavior is an instinct, but calling bad behavior an instinct doesn’t excuse it.  Bad advice shouldn’t be excused either. 

Dirt may have poop in it, so don’t eat it.


 

CRAIG ANDREW-KABILAFKAS: This article made me barf

Posted on by
Reply

I’m usually immune to many of the crazy notions that appear in FSnet, but having been touched by the recent and tragic Pseudomonas aeruginosa-linked death of Brazilian model Mariana Bridi, reading  Eating dirt can be good for you – just ask babies  made me barf. Surely it’s not too hard to understand that the evolutionary advantage Jane Brody references is Darwin’s survival of the fittest.  This means that the weak do not survive, they die.  Yes, it is better for humanity in the long run, but are there really parents alive today that want to play Russian roulette with their infants? 

Not me.

I know that 99% of the food that my kids eat is not sterile.  If tested it in a food microbiology lab there will be a bacterial count, but hopefully no pathogens.  I know that my mouth has trillions of bacteria resident in it even though I brush and floss my teeth twice daily.  I know that the air is not sterile and that my nose connects to my throat.  Some of the bacteria filtered by my nostrils will make their way into my throat and stomach.  Same with my kids.  I want my kids to survive and thrive so I get them to practice good personal hygiene.  I teach them about understanding and avoiding risk.  I think that it is an instinctive behaviour for children to crawl, but I prevented my children from crawling on the road because they had no concept of the risk of being hit by a car.

I also stopped them from putting dirt into their mouth.  They are still alive, strong and healthy today.  Bacteria don’t have discretion.  Mariana Bridi was in her prime and yet could not withstand the attack of a potent and pathogenic invader.  All of our knowledge, technology, and intellectual effort could not defeat her Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.  Is society better off for her passing? 

Bridi’s untimely death has affirmed my knowledge that survival of the fittest is still in play.  It can also serve to remind that we are not good judges of what is truly meant by "fittest".  Your child may look healthy and robust, but by exposing her to pathogens that are readily found in dirt and pet faeces you are conducting a life threatening experiment. You are playing Russian roulette with your child’s life and that is not the way to ensure survival. 

Practice good personal hygiene, good parenting and just hope that you and your family are fortunate enough to avoid the deadly, painful and destructive pathogenic bacteria that surround us.

Craig is a food microbiologist working as a food safety consultant across the Australasian region.
 

Be wild – and safe

Posted on by
1

I am planning on going to Yellowstone Park next weekend. I read this story and got a little worried.

About 30 people came down with symptoms consistent with the norovirus infection at the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge and High Sierra camps in the area, said Shane Sims, a specialist in the safety office at Yosemite National Park…

The hiker camps are particularly vulnerable to the spread of norovirus illness, because people enjoying the outdoors aren’t always careful about hygiene, Sims said.

So I decided to put together a few tips on how to keep your hygienic standards from home in the wild – especially if you have children or grandparents around.

1 – Pack one of those hand sanitizer bottles and use it as often as you can – before and after handling food, after bathroom breaks – you know it, whenever you would normally wash your hands with soap.

2 – While you’re at it, take a pack of wipes or moist towels (can probably be found at the baby section) and use it to clean your body (focus on face, underarms, groin, buttocks, and feet). You will not only kill bacteria that could make you sick, you will smell good and feel much better too.

3 – Take a small bottle of isopropyl alcohol and some cotton balls. Soak a cotton ball in alcohol and use it to rub your feet. This eliminates dangerous bacteria that could be forming around blisters or wounds. Change to clean socks.

4 – Quick bathroom tips: when going number one go directly into running water if possible or far away from the camp if not. When going number two go far away from the camp, and bury your poop like cats do. (Remember to use your hand sanitizer afterwards)

5 – Do not handle food if you have open sores on your hands, if you have diarrhea, or if you’re feeling sick in general. This will prevent a spread of infection.

6 – If you want to be sure about the water you’re drinking, carry with you a water filter or purification tablets like Iodine. Regular unscented liquid chlorine bleach also works. Follow the instructions on the label.  Most water sources are contaminated in North America and may contain guardia or cryptosporidium therefore are not safe to drink.

7 – Drink lots of fluids, rest plenty, and keep warm.

Follow these tips and reduce your chances of getting norovirus like the hikers above, or any other sickness that could ruin a fun trip. Enjoy the wild!

Michele Samarya-Timm, guest barfblogger: Poop and pools do not mix

Posted on by
Reply

With Memorial Day on the horizon, people are gearing up for summer fun.  As the weather warms, people are anxious to start partaking of warm weather activities, including jumping into the nearest swimming pool. 

Before making that splash into swimming pool waters, we all need to be advocates for a splash of a different kind….the sudsing, scrub and splash of good handwashing…and we all need to make this an essential component of recreational water activities.

Outbreaks from recreational water are more common than we would like, and are especially more common than the average swimmer realizes.    Trace amounts of fecal bacteria can be carried into the pool by our hands as well as by our bottoms.  Chlorine kills germs, but it doesn’t work right away – it takes time.  In fact, without good hygiene practices, even the best-maintained pools can spread illness.  Poop and pools do not mix.

Standard signage at public pools often includes the rule:  “Shower before entering.”  Shouldn’t we also include the rule:  “Wash hands before entering pool?”    Good handwashing practices help prevent so many outbreaks, and we need to keep reinforcing the need to make handwashing as much a part of our daily lives as eating, sleeping, and –yes – having fun in our swimming pools.

Think healthy.  Be healthy.  Wash your hands!

May 19-25 is Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week 2008.  You can find additional information at www.healthyswimming.org
—
Michéle Samarya-Timm is a Health Educator for the Franklin Township Health Department in New Jersey.  

Be appropriate in the kitchen

Posted on by
Reply

This week’s food safety infosheet is all about being appropriate in the kitchen, especially when it comes to food safety.  We used a couple of stories for this sheet: one from Texas about a post-complaint inspection where and inspector saw some inappropriate scratching by the staff, and another about a Salmonella outbreak in Pennsylvania.  You can download the sheet here.

We hear that some companies build their food safety training around the infosheets, and we are in the midst of evaluating their impact on changing practices with food handlers.  As we wrote last week, (and today’s sheet is a good example) through iFSN‘s infosheets, we try to put a compelling spin on food safety information, attempting to draw in even the laziest, creepiest and stonedest of food handlers.