Journal of Environmental Health Sciences (한국환경보건학회지)

Korean Society of Environmental Health (한국환경보건학회)
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A Study on Hand Hygiene Practices: A Comparison of Food Handlers with General Population

일반인과 식품취급자의 손 위생관리에 관한 비교

  • Kim, Jong-Gyu (Department of Public Health, Keimyung University) ;
  • Park, Jeong-Yeong (Department of Public Health, Keimyung University) ;
  • Kim, Joong-Soon (Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Keimyung University)
  • 김종규 (계명대학교 공중보건학과) ;
  • 박정영 (계명대학교 공중보건학과) ;
  • 김중순 (계명대학교 경영공학과)
  • Received : 2012.03.30
  • Accepted : 2012.06.25
  • Published : 2012.06.29
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Abstract

Objectives: This study was performed to investigate hygienic behavior of food handlers and general population focusing on awareness of hand-washing and the microbial load of their hands. Methods: A questionnaire survey and microbiological analysis were carried out for sixty-four people each. Samples for microbiological analysis were collected through the glove-juice method from the hands, and were analyzed for the presence of aerobic plate counts, total coliform, fecal coliform, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella spp. according to the Food Code of Korea. Results: In the survey, significant differences between the food handlers and general population (p < 0.01) were found in hand-washing frequency, duration, use of hand-washing agents, washing parts of hands, hand-drying method, and method of turning off water. In eight different situations among the ten particular situations in their daily life, more food handlers responded to wash their hands than general population (p < 0.05). Bacterial load on hands with general population was consistently higher than with food handlers (p < 0.05), however, percentages of positive hands of S. aureus and Salmonella spp. were not. Conclusions: Poor hand hygiene practices were indicated by the positive results for E. coli, S. aureus, and Salmonella spp. on the hands of some respondents in both groups. This study reveals that there is the need for programs or campaigns to increase hand-washing practices of both groups.

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