Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Did your chef wash their hands? Handwashing ‘lie detectors’ could find
out
While strict protocols of hygiene are taken in place at food factories,
what about the hygiene level in restaurants, fast-food shops, and take-out food
kitchens? Do plastic gloves like many open kitchen employees wear help prevent
food-borne illness from spreading? If the hands aren’t washed thoroughly enough,
you could contaminate the gloves with germs when you put them on. Rigorous handwashing,
at least for 20 seconds with soap, and drying the hands with a paper towel or
by a hand dryer, is essential before touching food or kitchen wares to
eliminate gut biome molecules that could transmit foodborne illnesses like norovirus,
E. coli, and salmonella. Then the question is if the kitchen staff’s hands are
properly washed according to the protocols. Now, there is a machine that can instantly
detect residual contaminants on the hands and wrist with light fluorescence
spectroscopy. The machine can be placed next to a handwashing station so that
the employees can check if their hands are clean enough to touch food. Also, it
can alert the restaurant’s operator if there is a kitchen staff whose hands are
detected as contaminated and when their employee ID codes are linked with the
scanning device. The device seems to ensure the hand cleanliness of the kitchen
staff, for themselves, the operator, and the customers.
Read the article and learn about this new technology that could improve
hygiene practices in the kitchen.
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