Food Handler Essentials: Are You Practicing Proper Hand Washing?

Key Highlights

Importance of Hand Hygiene: The hand hygiene you practice is important because it keeps hands clean. Clean hands help stop germs from spreading to you and other people. It makes you feel better and lowers the chance of you and others getting sick. A small step like hand washing can make a big difference in health for you and everyone.

Legal Requirements for Hand Washing: Food places must follow hand washing rules. Regulations say that you need to wash your hands the right way to keep food safe. If you work with food, it is a must to practice good hand hygiene by following these regulatory requirements, so no one gets sick from dirty hands.

When to Wash Your Hands vs. Use Sanitizer: There are times when hand washing is better, and times when it is ok to just use sanitizer. Wash your hands with soap and water, including the backs of your hands, when they look dirty, after going to the restroom, or before you handle food. You can use hand sanitizer when you have no soap and water, but the hand hygiene you get is not as strong as after hand washing.

Best Practices for Wearing Gloves: After you finish a good hand washing and maybe use sanitizer, you should wear gloves. Wearing gloves helps stop germs going in and out of your hands to food and objects. Always use clean gloves after keeping hand hygiene high. Change gloves at any time when needed, so you keep the best practice every day.

Introduction

Hey there! 🖐️ We all try to practice good hand hygiene, but sometimes we forget how important it really is. Germs are always around us. Knowing how hand washing and hand sanitizing work is key for you to stay healthy. This blog will help you learn when food handlers need to wash their hands, when you should use sanitizer, and the right way to do both. We will also talk about the rules and smart ways for using gloves. Let’s get started!

The Importance of Hand Hygiene

Why Clean Hands Matter

Hand hygiene is very important to stop the spread of infections and help control the spread of infections. Food handlers touch lots of things and people each day. This means their hands can make it easy for germs to move from one place to another.

Statistics That Highlight the Importance of Hand Hygiene:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say that hand washing the right way can help lower the risk of breathing problems by up to 21%. It can also cut stomach illness by 31%. Hand hygiene is key to disease control
The World Health Organization (WHO) shares that about 5 million kids under five die every year from diseases that people can stop. A lot of these deaths can be less if there is proper hand hygiene
Research shows that when hospitals use hand hygiene actions, there can be a 50% drop in infections caught at the hospital. This shows how strong hand washing is for disease control

These numbers show that keeping clean hands is more than just your own job. It is something we all need to do for public health. Clean hands can help save lives.

Common Germs and Illnesses

Hands can be home to many germs, and one of the most important ones is Staphylococcus aureus. This type of bacteria is often on the skin and inside the nose of healthy people. Even so, it can cause several kinds of infections.

Staphylococcus aureus is a kind of bacteria that many people have on their skin or in their noses without any problems. But, if this bacteria gets into the body through a cut or scratch, it can cause some serious health issues.

Watch this video to find out more about this germ and see how it can affect your health. (insert video)

Legal Requirements for Hand Washing

Hand washing is not only a good habit, but it is also something the law needs in many places. This is true for jobs in food service and in healthcare. The Food Hygiene Regulations 2009 talk about this, under the section called Personal Hygiene of Food Handlers.

Food handlers have to wash their hands before they start work. They also need to do this right after they use the toilet, and after they touch raw food or anything that may be dirty. This helps keep the food clean at all times: while handling, preparing, packing, transporting, storing, displaying, or serving food.

Businesses need to follow these rules to help keep people safe. If they do not follow them, it can lead to:

Fines: A business or any food handler can get a money penalty if they do not follow the hand washing rules. The fine can be up to ten thousand ringgit
Imprisonment: A person can also go to jail for not more than two years if they do not practice hand washing rules

Hand Washing 101: When and how to Wash Your Hands

Here are key times when hand washing is essential:

Wash your hands before you start work
Wash your hands before and after you touch raw foods
Wash your hands after you use the restroom
Wash your hands after you cough, sneeze or blow your nose
Wash your hands after you handle garbage or clean surfaces

Why each step of handwashing is important?

Download poster here

Get the hand washing poster to help you and your team follow the 7 steps of good hand washing.

Understanding Hand Sanitizers: Science and Myths

Optional or Mandatory ?

Thorough hand washing is important for taking out germs from your hands. But, using hand sanitization is another step you can do to feel cleaner. If hands are dirty, they can cause food to make people ill. Hand washing gets rid of many germs, and hand sanitization cuts down more germs that may stay. Doing hand sanitization adds an extra way to keep safe and helps businesses follow rules.

Hand sanitization can replace hand washing ?

Hand sanitization is not able to fully take the place of hand washing. Hand washing is needed by law when your hands look dirty. You must also wash your hands before and after food preparation, and after you use the restroom. This is because soap and water work well to get rid of dirt, bacteria, and viruses. You should use hand sanitizers to help hand washing, not to replace it. Hand sanitizers are not as good as soap and water at getting rid of dirt, grease, or some germs, especially when your hands look dirty.

Hand sanitizer with a higher alcohol content always means better efficacy.

Alcohol with a concentration between 60% and 95% ethyl alcohol can kill germs. It does this by breaking down the proteins and tearing apart the cell walls of tiny organisms. For alcohol to do this job, it has to stay on the germs for some time.

Formulations that have alcohol amounts over 95% can dry up very fast. This fast drying means the alcohol does not stay on your skin for a long time. Because of this, the alcohol may not work well enough to kill all the germs. There need to be enough time for the alcohol to do its job the right way.

Alcohol usually needs about 20 seconds to kill germs well. A lower amount stays on your skin longer. This helps it work better.

Hand Washing vs Hand Sanitizing for Food Handler Hygiene

Aspect	Hand Washing	Hand Sanitizing
Primary Purpose	Remove dirt, grease, and pathogens from hands	Reduce microorganisms on hands when soap and water are not available
Effectiveness	Highly effective at removing all types of germs, including dirt and grease	Effective against many germs, but less effective when hands are visibly dirty or greasy
When to Use	When hands are visibly soiled, before and after handling food (especially raw meat), after using the restroom, after coughing/sneezing	As an additional step after washing, or when soap and water are unavailable
Pathogen Removal	Physically removes bacteria, viruses, and dirt	Kills many bacteria and viruses but does not physically remove dirt or certain pathogens
Legal Requirement	Mandatory in food service when hands are dirty or after certain activities	Not a substitute for hand washing; optional unless specified by guidelines
Tools/Materials	Soap, clean running water, drying method (e.g., paper towel)	Alcohol-based sanitizer (60%–95% alcohol)
Limitations	Requires water and soap access; takes more time	Less effective on visibly dirty hands; may evaporate too quickly if alcohol content is too high (>95%)
Extra Benefits	Removes harmful chemicals and allergens	Convenient and quick; can be carried anywhere
Best Practice	Follow 7-step hand washing method for at least 20 seconds	Use enough sanitizer to cover all surfaces of the hands and rub for ~20 seconds

FAQs

1. Why is hand washing more effective than hand sanitizing?

Hand washing with soap, including antibacterial soap, and water is the best way to get rid of dirt, grease, and types of germs. Hand sanitizers might not get all germs off, especially if your hands are dirty that you can see.

2. When should I wash my hands instead of using hand sanitizer?

You should wash your hands:

Wash your hands before and after you handling food, mainly when you work with raw meat
Remember to wash your hands after you use the restroom
Clean your hands after you cough, sneeze, or blow your nose
Wash your hands if you see they are dirty

3. Can hand sanitizers replace hand washing in food service?

No, hand sanitizers should not take the place of hand washing. You can use them along with hand washing, but they are not a substitute. This is even more true when your hands are dirty.

4. How effective are hand sanitizers?

Hand sanitizers that have alcohol between 60% and 95% can kill many germs. They need to stay on your skin for about 20 seconds to work well.

5. Can wearing gloves eliminate the need for hand washing?

No, gloves are not a substitute for hand washing. You should wash your hands before you put on gloves. After you take them off, wash your hands again. This helps stop germs from spreading.

Conclusion

In the end, both hand washing and using hand sanitizer are important for good hand hygiene and to keep food safe. A clean towel can also help in the drying process. Gloves can help give extra protection, but they do not take the place of washing your hands well. People need to wash their hands often and follow best practices to lower the chance of germs spreading and to take care of public health. When we know why both ways matter, we help build a habit of being clean that keeps food safe and looks after everyone’s health.

How Are You Doing with Hand Hygiene?

Let’s take a bit of time to think about how you do hand hygiene. Here are some questions for you to look at:

Do Your Team Members Know the Basics? Do they know when they need to wash their hands, and when they should use sanitizer?

Are You Following the Rules? Do you know what the law in your field says about hand washing?

Is Hand Washing a Priority? Are your team members washing their hands at the right times every day?

Are Supplies Readily Available? Do you have enough places to wash hands and enough sanitizers for all?

Are Gloves Being Used Correctly? Do your staff know that wearing gloves does not take the place of hand washing, and are they using gloves the right way?

If you feel that you are not sure about any of these, now is a good time to do something about it!

Partner with Magcolm Solutions for a Hygiene Boost!

At Magcolm Solutions, we are here to help you improve your hand hygiene. You can get training, tools or help with rules from us. We are always ready to support you. Working together, we can build a clean and safe space at work. Contact us now. Let’s make your hand hygiene better!