Food sanitation is mostly common sense

Given all the emails and texts I still get regarding the craziness of the last couple of years, you’d think that some people were just discovering the concept of hand washing! Conscientious restaurant workers and food handlers (note the word “conscientious”) have been doing it for years, and, trust me, we consumers are better off for it.

During my visits to the Ocean City Hotel Motel Restaurant Association trade show last spring, I was impressed that pretty much everyone handling food was wearing food-handling gloves. Though I expected that, I was even more impressed when I noticed that the great majority of food handlers were changing into a new pair of gloves after handling money or anything other than food, such as credit cards or computer keyboards. All this concern for cross-contamination got me thinking. So many of the dire warnings we’ve heard are nothing more than standard operating procedure for any properly run restaurant. (Need I direct your attention to the words “properly run”?)

Cross-contamination is exactly what it sounds like: the unintentional transfer of bacteria, viruses, etc., from one substance (let’s say raw chicken, for example) to another surface (maybe a cutting board where you chop lettuce). Cross-contamination is the No. 1 culprit in the investigation of foodborne illnesses. Though that might seem obvious, hidden sources of cross-contamination can be overlooked by the untrained, the uncaring or just anyone in a rush.

Take the bathroom water faucets in a restaurant, for example. Though they might seem nice and shiny, remember that people touch them after they use the facilities, but before they wash their hands. So the less vigilant will dutifully turn on the water to wash their hands after using the bathroom, then instantly recontaminate their hands when they turn the faucets off. The problem becomes even worse when they grab the bathroom doorknob as they leave. It’s as if they never washed their hands to begin with.

The remedy to this double whammy of germs is simple: When you dry your hands after washing, use the paper towel to not only turn off the faucets, but also to handle the doorknob. Savvy restaurant owners locate a trash can by the door for just this reason. Sadly, the problem is harder to control when paper towels are replaced by electronic hand dryers. In these cases, creative acrobatics using elbows, arms, the back of your hands and your shirtsleeves might be your only clean escape from the bathroom. I was thoroughly impressed when Touch of Italy in Rehoboth Beach installed special bathroom door handles that allow you to pull the door open using your upper arm. I’ve also noticed that more and more restaurants with electronic hand dryers are adding paper towels to minimize hand contact with obviously contaminated surfaces. Those critical precautions are not only for customers – they also apply to the employees who handle your food.

Another opportunity for cross-contamination lurks right where you’re sitting. When people pull their chairs or barstools closer to the table or bar, they usually do so by grabbing the edge/underside of the seat to pull it forward. Bingo! You have just touched what every other person who sat in that chair touched. The fix? Use your napkin to separate your hand from the chair. Lacking that, at least spritz your now-contaminated hands with sanitizer before touching your food or utensils.

Grocery stores are an obstacle course of bacterial and viral contaminants. Most stores provide antibacterial wipes by the front door for the express purpose of wiping the grocery cart handles. Skip that at your own peril: Whatever nastiness is on those cart handles will now be transferred to the fresh fruits, veggies and other “ready-to-eat” products you fondle during the buying process – not to mention the outside surfaces of cartons, bottles, cans, wrappers, etc. Same thing with the control panels for self-checkout machines. The moment you press the keypad, your finger now shares whatever lurks there from everyone else’s button-pressing fingers. Another reason to not skip the hand sanitizer or antibacterial wipes that (we hope) are available by the entrances and exits.

If anything good came out of the recent turmoil, it has forced critically thinking people to change their habits to protect themselves and their loved ones from cooties that have always waited for us on publicly accessed surfaces. Sadly, there will always be a lazy few who will dismiss cross-contamination precautions as “too hard” or an “overreaction.” Sorry: Science is science, and it’s those very individuals against whom we must protect ourselves. The tools and methods are there. We just need to make it a habit to use them.

Virologists and other experts have warned for years that the great majority of colds and flu cases originate by touching your eyes, nose or mouth with contaminated fingers. Watch your doctors! They are constantly washing their hands and using sanitizer – even when donning sterile gloves. If it’s good enough for your doctor, it’s good enough for you.

Use simple common sense to be safe. Blocking viral and bacterial contamination at the source is a very effective way to do that. And well-run restaurants are and have always been experts at that very thing.