IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i16p8828-d619012.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Efficacy of Removing Bacteria and Organic Dirt from Hands—A Study Based on Bioluminescence Measurements for Evaluation of Hand Hygiene When Cooking

Author

Listed:
  • Octavian Augustin Mihalache

    (Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Domnească Street 111, 800201 Galati, Romania)

  • Daniela Borda

    (Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Domnească Street 111, 800201 Galati, Romania)

  • Corina Neagu

    (Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Domnească Street 111, 800201 Galati, Romania)

  • Paula Teixeira

    (CBQF-Centro de Biotecnologia e Química Fina-Laboratório Associado, Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Diogo Botelho 1327, 4169-005 Porto, Portugal)

  • Solveig Langsrud

    (Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (Nofima), Osloveien 1, N-1430 Ås, Norway)

  • Anca Ioana Nicolau

    (Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Dunarea de Jos University of Galati, Domnească Street 111, 800201 Galati, Romania)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of dirt removal (bacteria and organic matter) of several hand-cleaning procedures. The results from the hand hygiene experiment indicated that washing hands with warm water and soap for 20 s is the most effective method investigated when hands are either dirty or greasy. Even if not proper washing, rinsing under running water for 5 s is a cleaning procedure that may significantly reduce the probability of cross-contamination, as it removes 90% of the hands’ dirt. Although less effective than water and soap, the usage of antibacterial wipes was significantly more effective than wet wipes, indicating that they are a better choice when water and soap are not available. The results of this study enable us to inform consumers about the effectiveness of hand-cleaning procedures applied in their homes when cooking. Moreover, it can make consumers understand why, during the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities recommended washing hands as a preventive measure of infection and using an anti-bacterial hand gel or wiping hands with an antimicrobial wipe if water and soap are not available.

Suggested Citation

  • Octavian Augustin Mihalache & Daniela Borda & Corina Neagu & Paula Teixeira & Solveig Langsrud & Anca Ioana Nicolau, 2021. "Efficacy of Removing Bacteria and Organic Dirt from Hands—A Study Based on Bioluminescence Measurements for Evaluation of Hand Hygiene When Cooking," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-13, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:16:p:8828-:d:619012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8828/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8828/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maxine Burton & Emma Cobb & Peter Donachie & Gaby Judah & Val Curtis & Wolf-Peter Schmidt, 2011. "The Effect of Handwashing with Water or Soap on Bacterial Contamination of Hands," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-8, January.
    2. Esther Van Asselt & Arnout Fischer & Aarieke E. I. De Jong & Maarten J. Nauta & Rob De Jonge, 2009. "Cooking Practices in the Kitchen—Observed Versus Predicted Behavior," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(4), pages 533-540, April.
    3. Aiello, A.E. & Coulborn, R.M. & Perez, V. & Larson, E.L., 2008. "Effect of hand hygiene on infectious disease risk in the community setting: A meta-analysis," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 98(8), pages 1372-1381.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mi Ah Han, 2019. "Hand Hygiene Practices Among Adults with Diabetes Living in Communities: The 2015 Korea Community Health Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-10, April.
    2. Jennifer Trudeau & Anna-Maria Aksan & William F. Vásquez, 2018. "Water system unreliability and diarrhea incidence among children in Guatemala," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 63(2), pages 241-250, March.
    3. Antonio Jesús Ramos-Morcillo & Francisco José Moreno-Martínez & Ana María Hernández Susarte & César Hueso-Montoro & María Ruzafa-Martínez, 2019. "Social Determinants of Health, the Family, and Children’s Personal Hygiene: A Comparative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-15, November.
    4. Christos Nicolaides & Demetris Avraam & Luis Cueto‐Felgueroso & Marta C. González & Ruben Juanes, 2020. "Hand‐Hygiene Mitigation Strategies Against Global Disease Spreading through the Air Transportation Network," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 40(4), pages 723-740, April.
    5. Claudia Freivogel & Vivianne H. M. Visschers, 2020. "Understanding the Underlying Psychosocial Determinants of Safe Food Handling among Consumers to Mitigate the Transmission Risk of Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-19, April.
    6. Bin Cui & Shao Ying Li & Linda Dong-Ling Wang & Xiang Chen & Jun Ke & Yi Tian, 2021. "Hand Hygiene Knowledge and Self-Reported Hand Washing Behaviors among Restaurant Kitchen Chefs in Jiangsu Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    7. Dingman, Deirdre & Wu, Jingwei & Murphy, Heather M., 2020. "School-based, blacklight handwashing program can improve handwashing quality and knowledge among pre-school aged children," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    8. Woojae Han & Jeong-Soon Yu & Sihun Park & Myung-Soon Kwon, 2021. "A Systematic Review for Effective Preventive Public Education of Respiratory Infection," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-17, April.
    9. Center for Economic and Social & International Food Policy Research Institute & Michigan State University, 2016. "Revitalized Agriculture for Balanced Growth and Resilient Livelihoods: Toward a Rural Development Strategy for Mon State, Myanmar," Food Security International Development Working Papers 249278, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    10. Francisco González-Gómez & Enrique Lluch-Frechina & Jorge Guardiola, 2013. "Water Habits and Hygiene Education to Prevent Diarrhoeal Diseases: The Zambezi River Basin in Mozambique," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 25(4), pages 563-572.
    11. Yuko Noguchi & Daisuke Nonaka & Sengchanh Kounnavong & Jun Kobayashi, 2021. "Effects of Hand-Washing Facilities with Water and Soap on Diarrhea Incidence among Children under Five Years in Lao People’s Democratic Republic: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-14, January.
    12. Hanne C Lie & Leigh W Simmons & Gillian Rhodes, 2009. "Does Genetic Diversity Predict Health in Humans?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(7), pages 1-7, July.
    13. Astrid Hasund Thorseth & Jennifer Lamb & Constancia Vimbayi Mavodza & Mandikudza Tembo & Anesu Petra Mushangari & Eddington Zinyandu & Thomas Heath & Sian White, 2024. "Using Wash’Em to Design Handwashing Programmes for Crisis-Affected Populations in Zimbabwe: A Process Evaluation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(3), pages 1-25, February.
    14. Carol Devamani & Guy Norman & Wolf-Peter Schmidt, 2014. "A Simple Microbiological Tool to Evaluate the Effect of Environmental Health Interventions on Hand Contamination," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-14, November.
    15. Calvin Blackwell & Daniela Goya-Tocchetto & Zach Sturman, 2018. "Nudges in the restroom: How hand-washing can be impacted by environmental cues," Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE), vol. 2(2), pages 41-47, September.
    16. You Li & Jian Qin & Xiao Wei & Chunhong Li & Jian Wang & Meiyu Jiang & Xue Liang & Tianlong Xia & Zhiyong Zhang, 2016. "The Risk Factors of Child Lead Poisoning in China: A Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-13, March.
    17. Tracy Morse & Elizabeth Tilley & Kondwani Chidziwisano & Rossanie Malolo & Janelisa Musaya, 2020. "Health Outcomes of an Integrated Behaviour-Centred Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Food Safety Intervention–A Randomised before and after Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-19, April.
    18. Mukherjee, Sacchidananda, 2020. "Factors influencing access to basic handwashing facilities in developing countries," MPRA Paper 99607, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Richard L Wright & Ruediger Zillmer & Adam Biran & Peter Hall & Myriam Sidibe, 2015. "Use of Electronic Loggers to Measure Changes in the Rates of Hand Washing with Soap in Low-Income Urban Households in India," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(6), pages 1-7, June.
    20. Frempong, Raymond Boadi & Kitzmüller, Lucas & Stadelmann, David, 2021. "A micro-based approach to evaluate the effect of water supply on health in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:16:p:8828-:d:619012. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.