Hand hygiene: guidelines for best practice - no. 62

Ensure that your hand washing facilities and procedures are optimised.

Hands are one of the major sources and routes for cross-contamination in the food industry.

Reducing cross-contamination is key in the production of microbiologically safer, higher quality food.

Hand hygiene policies and the facilities provided for hand hygiene in food handling environments vary greatly.

This document reviews knowledge and practices relating to hand hygiene within the food and medical industries and uses this to propose best practice for hand hygiene within the food industry.