Food Safety and Hygiene, February 2000

A bulletin for the Australian Food Industry February 2000

Contents: Safety of food derived from biotechnology | Acid tolerance of E. coli O157:H7 | Money handling in food service operations | Hand washing and the use of gloves for food protection | More on bare hand contact of ready-to-eat foods | Acute copper poisoning

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More on bare hand contact of ready-to-eat foods

In the United States, the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMF) provides advice to the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the microbiological safety of foods. In September 1999, NACMF held a meeting to discuss the issue of bare hand contact of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. (Food Safety Issues 1 (10) 1999)

FDA has requested that NACMCF examine the scientific data on the risk associated with this practice as it is a provision of the FDA Food Code that food workers are prohibited from touching RTE foods with bare hands. FDA requested that NACMF respond to three specific questions:

Do you believe that bare hand contact with RTE foods is a contributing factor to foodborne illness?
If so, can the transmission of foodborne illness via bare hand contact be interrupted; and,
if you believe it is possible to interrupt transmission, which of the following interventions will provide maximum public health benefit:
– prohibition against ill or infected workers from preparing food;
– hand washing/personal sanitation regimens;
– a blanket prohibition against bare hand contact with RTE foods?

The Committee agreed that the data and information presented to them indicate that bare hand contact with RTE foods is a contributing factor in the transmission of foodborne illness. Such transmission can be interrupted.

The Committee concluded that excluding ill workers from preparing food and exercising proper hand washing/personal sanitation regimes would be effective in reducing the incidence of foodborne disease. Minimising bare hand contact of RTE food can provide an additional barrier to transmission of human borne or foodborne disease. However the Committee determined that there was insufficient scientific evidence to support a blanket prohibition of bare hand contact with RTE foods.

A report of the NACMCF's conclusions will be presented at a Conference on Food Protection set down for April, 2000.

Food Safety and Hygiene

Prepared by Keith Richardson and Beverley George
Food Science Australia
PO Box 52, North Ryde 1670. Tel +61 2 9490 8397 Fax +61 2 9490 8499
Email enquiries@csiro.au