Course Access
Hi All,
I work for a company with significant overlap in both the food and
medical industries. The regulations/recommendations/overall leanings
are certainly clear with regards to each industry individually. The
Food Industry subscribes to soap and warm water washing (see AUSNZ Food
Standard 3.2.2 Division 4-1 and 4-2, as well as 3.2.3 Division 4-1) and
the Medical to alcohol based sanitiser (WHO, CDC, HHA, NHMRC etc).
What is less clear however is when they overlap. To my knowledge I do
not know of any intersecting guidelines (happy to be pointed in the
right direction!).
As far as the Science goes, the inconsistencies between the two are a
reflection perhaps of the differing routes of infection, and the
prominence of different outbreaks in each industry. As Cath noted the
FDA has a good summary of the reasoning for this but basically it comes
down to the fact that pathogens in the food industry (in terms of human
transmission) are more likely to be transmitted via the faecal-oral
route as opposed to the person-to-person route seen in the medical
industry. For this reason alone notable viruses such as Clostridium
Difficile and Norovirus are prevalent in the food industry and as such,
soap and water hand washing are the better alternative due to the
documented inadequacy of alcohol sanitisers in dealing with the two.
Further to this, the increased risk of hands being physically soiled in
the food service industry due to foodstuffs etc compels the mechanical
removal of physical contaminants, ie soap and water.
For me it would come down to a balance of applicability. Whether you
think the kitchens food activities outweigh their exposure to the
hospital setting or vice-versa.
I hope I’ve given a fair and balanced response, very happy to provide
references. I look forward to your feedback J
Kind regards,
James Casey
Business Development
Manager
Tealwash Pty Ltd
a member of the Transplumb group.
Mobile +61 438 175 504
Phone +61 3 8336 1899 – ext 3
Email jcasey@tealwash.com.au
72b Barrie Road, Tullamarine 3043,
VIC, Australia.
Behalf Of Michael Wishart
Hi Cath
I am not sure I can place my hand on my heart and say that our
Australian / New Zealand Food Safety Standards (
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/) are actually fully based on evidence
and supported by evidence, but they are certainly well accepted within
the food industry and by the food industry regulators.
Here is an example from NSW about food safe chemicals, which includes
‘hand sanitisers’…
http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/industry/food-business-issues/chemic
als-suitability/
Cheers
Michael
Michael Wishart
CNC Infection Control
Holy Spirit Northside Private Hospital
627 Rode Road, Chermside, Qld 4032
t: (07) 3326 3068 | f: (07) 3607 2226
w:www.holyspiritnorthside.org.au
Please consider the environment before printing this email
Behalf Of Cath Murphy
Hi Michael
Could you please provide a link of title of those “food safety
recommendations” Michael. I’m keen to see what science they are based
on.
Cheers
Cath
Cathryn Murphy PhD
Executive Director
Infection Control Plus Pty Ltd
http://www.infectioncontrolplus.com.au
FB logo Description:
icp icon
Behalf Of Michael Wishart
Hi Cath
Food safety recommendations preclude use of non-food safe chemicals in
the food processing environment, which precludes use of most alcohol
based hand hygiene products and some antiseptic products. I do believe
there are some waterless hand hygiene products (not sure if some of
these should be considered ‘alcohol’ based, though) that are approved as
‘food safe’, but most of those alcohol based hand hygiene products
routinely in use in healthcare have not been approved as ‘food safe’.
Thus, the use of alcohol based hand hygiene products within certain
parts of food services with healthcare facilities is problematic, which
is why I think this is a good question, and I believe the responses have
indicated this.
In regard to mentioning of brand names, yes, we generally try to
recommend avoiding use of brand names in discussions where possible, but
this creates some work for both myself as the moderator and the list
subscribers who are replying. Rather than bog the list down in
administrative emails and such, I have preferred to weigh up the issue
of posting of actual product names with the benefits of open discussion.
For example, in this instance, my belief was it was useful to see which
actual products are being used in what aspects of food service delivery
(eg ward delivery vs food production), as this was conducive to the
conversation. This approach had been supported by previous ACIPC / AICA
executives, although like all things, this is open to review with
further comments from the membership.
It is always useful to examine what we are discussing, how we are
discussing it, and what benefit and risk these discussions may have, so
I thank you for your comments. More discussion is always welcomed!
Cheers
Michael Wishart
Infexion Connexion Administrator
Michael Wishart
CNC Infection Control
Holy Spirit Northside Private Hospital
627 Rode Road, Chermside, Qld 4032
t: (07) 3326 3068 | f: (07) 3607 2226
w:www.holyspiritnorthside.org.au
Please consider the environment before printing this email
Behalf Of Cath Murphy
Hi Marlize
I’m curious about the question and the responses. As I understand it
there have been no scientific reports or official Australian public
policy directives that suggest differentiating between what is available
in public areas, in the wards where staff perform hand hygiene before
feeding patients and/or in kitchens or food prep areas. I checked the
WHO Guidelines from 2009 and they also appear to be silent on the issue.
Given that one of the basic tenets to improve hand hygiene compliance is
standardisation I would think it wise if you introduced or continued to
use a neutral liquid soap identical to that used in the settings
mentioned above. The key points are making sure kitchen staff understand
the importance of HH as part of food hygiene, that they perform it when
needed (including when on the ward if potentially exposed) and that
their technique and wearing of gloves is performed in such a way that
the skin on their hands is maintained. It would be an education rather
than a product issue I think.
As always I am surprised to see brand names mentioned here in the forum
given its policies and conditions around promotion etc it would be more
ethical to stick to using generic terms but perhaps the moderator can
advise. Also my experience would indicate that if you raised the issue
of HH for kitchen staff your current supplier of HH product would no
doubt be able to provide you with data and information regarding
suitability of their product in that setting.
Good luck and thanks for making me curious 😉
Cath
Cathryn Murphy PhD
Executive Director
Infection Control Plus Pty Ltd
http://www.infectioncontrolplus.com.au
FB logo Description:
icp icon
Behalf Of SAWMH.ICC
Dear All,
We are currently looking for a alcohol based hand sanitiser to use in
our Food Service Department. I was wondering what the practices are out
there, and what product you are using in your Food Service Departments
and on your food delivering trolleys?
Thank you and regards
Marlize Senekal
Infection Prevention and Control Coordinator
St. Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital
457 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill
Brisbane
Ph. 07-3834 4444
Ext. 4328, Pg. 0328
_________________________________________________________________
Uniting Care Health Email Disclaimer:
http://www.uchealth.com.au/disclaimer
Messages posted to this list are solely the opinion of the authors, and
do not represent the opinion of ACIPC.
Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives
– registration and login required.
Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a
new message send an email to aicalist@aicalist.org.au
To send a message to the list administrator send an email to
aicalist-request@aicalist.org.au.
You can unsubscribe from this list be sending ‘signoff aicalist’
(without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au
Messages posted to this list are solely the opinion of the authors, and
do not represent the opinion of ACIPC.
Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives
– registration and login required.
Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a
new message send an email to aicalist@aicalist.org.au
To send a message to the list administrator send an email to
aicalist-request@aicalist.org.au.
You can unsubscribe from this list be sending ‘signoff aicalist’
(without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au
Message protected by MailGuard: e-mail anti-virus, anti-spam and content
filtering.
http://www.mailguard.com.au/mg
Report this message as spam
WARNING : This email contains information, which is CONFIDENTIAL, and
that maybe subject to LEGAL PRIVILEGE. This e-mail and any attachments
to it (the “Communication”) is confidential and is for the use only of
the intended recipient, and may not duplicated or used by any other
party without the express consent of the sender. The Communication may
contain copyright material of St Vincent’s Health & Aged Care(“SVHAC”),
or any of its related entities or of third parties. If you are not the
intended recipient of the Communication, please notify the sender
immediately by return e-mail, delete the Communication, and do not read,
copy, print, retransmit, store or act in reliance on the Communication.
Any views expressed in the Communication are those of the individual
sender only, unless expressly stated to be those of SVHAC. SVHAC does
not guarantee the integrity of the Communication, or that it is free
from errors, viruses or interference. Thank-you.
Message protected by MailGuard: e-mail anti-virus, anti-spam and content
filtering.
http://www.mailguard.com.au/mg
Messages posted to this list are solely the opinion of the authors, and
do not represent the opinion of ACIPC.
Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives
– registration and login required.
Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a
new message send an email to aicalist@aicalist.org.au
To send a message to the list administrator send an email to
aicalist-request@aicalist.org.au.
You can unsubscribe from this list be sending ‘signoff aicalist’
(without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au
Messages posted to this list are solely the opinion of the authors, and
do not represent the opinion of ACIPC.
Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives
– registration and login required.
Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a
new message send an email to aicalist@aicalist.org.au
To send a message to the list administrator send an email to
aicalist-request@aicalist.org.au.
You can unsubscribe from this list be sending ‘signoff aicalist’
(without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au
Message protected by MailGuard: e-mail anti-virus, anti-spam and content
filtering.
http://www.mailguard.com.au/mg
Report this message as spam
WARNING : This email contains information, which is CONFIDENTIAL, and
that maybe subject to LEGAL PRIVILEGE. This e-mail and any attachments
to it (the “Communication”) is confidential and is for the use only of
the intended recipient, and may not duplicated or used by any other
party without the express consent of the sender. The Communication may
contain copyright material of St Vincent’s Health & Aged Care(“SVHAC”),
or any of its related entities or of third parties. If you are not the
intended recipient of the Communication, please notify the sender
immediately by return e-mail, delete the Communication, and do not read,
copy, print, retransmit, store or act in reliance on the Communication.
Any views expressed in the Communication are those of the individual
sender only, unless expressly stated to be those of SVHAC. SVHAC does
not guarantee the integrity of the Communication, or that it is free
from errors, viruses or interference. Thank-you.
Message protected by MailGuard: e-mail anti-virus, anti-spam and content
filtering.
http://www.mailguard.com.au/mg
Messages posted to this list are solely the opinion of the authors, and
do not represent the opinion of ACIPC.
Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives
– registration and login required.
Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a
new message send an email to aicalist@aicalist.org.au
To send a message to the list administrator send an email to
aicalist-request@aicalist.org.au.
You can unsubscribe from this list be sending ‘signoff aicalist’
(without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au
Messages posted to this list are solely the opinion of the authors, and do not represent the opinion of ACIPC.
Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.
Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to aicalist@aicalist.org.au
To send a message to the list administrator send an email to aicalist-request@aicalist.org.au.
You can unsubscribe from this list be sending ‘signoff aicalist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au