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Great points James. Thank you for the thoughtful discussion and considerations. V interesting. Also reminds me of the importance of unwell kitchen staff absenting themselves from work for 48hrs post symptoms in the event of V&D type illness.
You gotta love the diversity and debate around infection prevention and control.
Cheers
Cath
Cathryn Murphy PhD
Executive Director
Infection Control Plus Pty Ltd
http://www.infectioncontrolplus.com.au
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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 🙂
Kind regards,
James Casey
Business Development
Manager
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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.
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/chemicals-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
e: Michael.Wishart@hsn.org.au
w:www.holyspiritnorthside.org.au
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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
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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
e: Michael.Wishart@hsn.org.au
w:www.holyspiritnorthside.org.au
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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
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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
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