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Since January 26, 1998, USDA inspectors have been
implementing a new science-based Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
(HACCP) system to prevent foodborne illness in U.S. meat producing plants.
The system identifies the faucet handle as being a critical control point in
the meat handling industry and requires meat handlers to implement devices
that eliminate the need to touch a faucet handle when handling raw meat. The
Foot Faucet allows hands free operation of your kitchen sink.
Two of the main concerns in the kitchen today are safe
food preparation and healthy cooking made easier. Although the kitchen is
the place where we go to fill our stomachs with food, the kitchen is also
the most likely place for germs to get into our bodies making us sick.
Cross-Contamination is the main way germs are spread to food in the kitchen.
Germs that cause everything from the common cold to MRSA(flesh eating
bacteria) can be brought home after school or work and end up on the faucet
handle as we are turning it on to wash our hands, now with clean hands, we
have to touch the contaminated faucet handle to turn the water off, getting
the germs right back on our hands, then we proceed to spread those germs
around the kitchen with "clean" hands. Germs are also very likely to get on
our hands from handling raw meat or other food, these germs also end up on
the faucet handle and then... everywhere else. The Centers For Disease
Control say that the most effective thing we all can do to prevent ourselves
from getting sick is to properly wash our hands. Proper hand washing and
safe food handling practices are the cornerstone of any healthy kitchen, so
having an automatic faucet to control the hot/cold water and the garbage disposal without
spreading germs on the faucet handle(s) or the disposal switch can make the
kitchen sink a germ fighting super-hero instead of a prime suspect in making
your family sick.
Healthy cooking can be a lot of work, with any fresh meat or vegetable,
effective cleaning and preparation requires clean water. Also, preparing
these things can be a bit messy, so we usually either fill up the sink or a
pot to do washing/rinsing in, which can get dirty quickly leading to a
contamination problem, or, some people leave the faucet on while they
prepare the food and rinse their hands, that wastes a lot of water. Some
people get good at using the back of their hand or their elbow to turn on
the faucet, that prevents spreading until the second time you have to do
it... Even if
you leave the faucet on, if you have a sink full of something that you want
to wash down the garbage disposal, you have to either wash off (and dry to
avoid electrocution) your hands to turn on the garbage disposal, or get the
switch dirty, contaminating it, and risking a less than pleasant ZAP. Using
your foot to control the water flow and garbage disposal makes preparing
healthy food easier and stops cross-contamination while saving water.
According to the Centers for Disease Control - Food
Safety Division. "Many people do not think about food safety until a
food-related illness affects them or a family member. While the food supply
in the United States is one of the safest in the world, CDC estimates that
76 million people get sick, more than 300,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000
Americans die each year from foodborne illness. Preventing foodborne illness
and death remains a major public health challenge."
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"Today, many companies sell
antibacterial solutions and chemicals for the purpose of making hands safe.
In fact, this actually leads to damage of the skin, which then leads to less
hand washing. The following table points out the defenses of the skin and their
function. It identifies the hair follicles, sweat glands, and other skin
defense mechanisms. One must not interfere with these defenses; otherwise,
we will have diseases of the skin and less hand washing."
O. Peter Snyder, Jr., Ph.D.
Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management
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Defenses of skin*
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Site
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Defenses
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Function
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|
Skin |
Dryness and acidic
conditions (pH 5)
Sloughing cells
Resident bacteria |
Limit bacterial growth
Remove bacteria
Compete for nutrients
and colonization / attachment sites |
|
Hair follicles, sweat
glands |
Lysozyme, toxic lipids |
Kill bacteria |
|
Sebum from sebaceous glands |
Protective film on surface
of skin |
Prevents excessive dryness
of skin |
|
Beneath skin surface |
Skin associated lymphoid
tissue (SALT) |
Kill bacteria; sample
antigens on skin surface. |
*References:
Salyers, A.A., and Whitt, D.D. 1994. Chapter 1. Host
defenses against bacterial pathogens: Defenses of body surfaces. In
Bacterial Pathogenesis. American Society of Microbiology Press. Washington,
D. C.
Prescott, L. M., Harley, J. P., and Klein, D. A. 1996.
Microbiology. 3rd edition. Wm. C. Brown. Dubuque, IA.
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Common Foodborne Pathogens
Even though the United States has one of the safest food supplies in the
world, there are still millions of cases of foodborne illness each year.
Here are common foodborne pathogens (disease-causing microorganisms)
with research-based information:
- Cause of illness: large molecular weight protein (diarrheal type) or
highly heat-stable toxin (emetic type)
- Incubation period: 30 minutes to 15 hours
- Symptoms: diarrhea , abdominal cramps, nausea, and vomiting (emetic
type)
- Possible contaminants: meats, milk, vegetables, fish, rice, potatoes,
pasta, and cheese
- Steps for prevention: pay careful attention to food preparation and
cooking guidelines.
- Cause of Illness: Infection, even with low numbers
- Incubation Period: One to seven days
- Symptoms: Nausea, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, headache
- varying in severity
- Possible Contaminant: Raw milk, eggs, poultry, raw
beef, cake icing, water
- Steps for Prevention: Pasteurize milk; cook foods
properly; prevent cross-contamination.
- Cause of illness: undercooked meats and gravies
- Incubation period: 8 to 22 hours
- Symptoms: abdominal cramps and diarrhea, some include
dehydration
- Possible contaminants: meats and gravies
- Steps for prevention: proper attention to cooking
temperatures.
- Cause of Illness: eating raw or undercooked food;
putting something in the mouth that has been contaminated with the stool
of an infected person or animal; direct contact with the droppings of
infected animals.
- Incubation Period: Two to 10 days
- Symptoms: Watery diarrhea accompanied by mild stomach
cramping, nausea, loss of appetite. Symptoms may last 10 to 15 days.
- Possible Contaminants: Contaminated water or milk,
person-to-person transmission (especially in child daycare settings).
Contaminated food can also cause infections.
- Steps for Prevention: Wash hands after using the toilet
and before handling food. If you work in a child care center where you
change diapers, be sure to wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water
after every diaper change, even if you wear gloves. During communitywide
outbreaks caused by contaminated drinking water, boil drinking water for 1
minute to kill the Cryptosporidium parasite. Allow water to cool before
drinking it.
- Cause of Illness: Strain of enteropathic E.coli
Incubation Period: Two to four days
- Symptoms: Hemorrhagic colitis, possibly hemolytic
uremic syndrome
- Possible Contaminant: Ground beef, raw milk
- Steps for Prevention: Thoroughly cook meat; no
cross-contamination.
- Cause of illness: Hepatitis A Virus (HAV)
- Incubation period:
- Symptoms: fever, malaise, nausea, abdominal discomfort
- Possible contaminants: water, fruits, vegetables, iced
drinks, shellfish, and salads
- Steps for prevention: carefully wash hands with soap
and water after using a restroom, changing a diaper, and before preparing
food.
- Cause of Illness: Infection with Listeria monocytogenes
Incubation Period: Two days to three weeks
- Symptoms: Meningitis, sepsticemia, miscarriage
- Possible Contaminant: Vegetables, milk, cheese, meat,
seafood
- Steps for Prevention: Purchase pasteurized dairy
products; cook foods properly; no cross-contamination; use sanitary
practices.
- Cause of Illness: Infection with Norwalk virus
Incubation Period: Between 12 and 48 hours (average, 36 hours); duration,
12-60 hours
- Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal
cramps
- Possible Contaminant: raw oysters/shellfish, water and
ice, salads, frosting, person-to-person contact
- Steps for Prevention: Adequate and proper treatment and
disposal of sewage, appropriate chlorination of water, restriction of
infected food handlers from working with food until they no longer shed
virus.
- Cause of Illness: Infection with Salmonella species
Incubation Period: 12 to 24 hours
- Symptoms: Nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever,
headache, chills, prostration
- Possible Contaminant: Meat, poultry, egg or milk
products
- Steps for Prevention: Cook thoroughly; avoid
cross-contamination; use sanitary practices.
- Cause of Illness: Toxin produced by certain strains of
Staphylococcus aureus
- Incubation Period: One to six hours
Symptoms: Severe vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping
- Possible Contaminant: Custard- or cream-filled baked
goods, ham, tongue, poultry, dressing, gravy, eggs, potato salad, cream
sauces, sandwich fillings
- Steps for Prevention: Refrigerate foods; use sanitary
practices.
- Cause of illness: Water contaminated with human feces
and unsanitary food handling
- Incubation period: 12 to 50 hours
- Symptoms: abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhea, fever,
vomiting, blood, and pus
- Possible contaminants: salads, raw vegetables, dairy
products, and poultry
- Steps for prevention: practice proper washing and
sanitizing techniques.
- Cause of Illness: Parasitic infection
Incubation Period: Five to 23 days after exposure
- Symptoms: In healthy children and adults, toxoplasmosis
may cause no symptoms at all, or may cause a mild illness (swollen lymph
glands, fever, headache, and muscle aches).
Toxoplasmosis is a very severe infection for unborn babies and for people
with immune system problems.
- Possible Contaminant: Cat, rodent or bird feces, raw or
undercooked food.
- Steps for Prevention: Wash hands thoroughly after
working with soil, cleaning litter boxes, before and after handling foods,
and before eating. Cover sandboxes when not in use.
- Cause of illness: excretion of toxin from infected fish
and shellfish
- Incubation period: four hours to four days
- Symptoms: diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting,
headache, fever, and chills
- Possible contaminants: fish and shellfish
- Steps for prevention: cook fish and shellfish
thoroughly
- Cause of Illness: Infection with Yersinia
enterocolitica
Incubation Period: One to three days
- Symptoms: Enterocolitis, may mimic acute appendicitis
- Possible Contaminant: Raw milk, chocolate milk, water,
pork, other raw meats
- Steps for Prevention: Pasteurize milk; cook foods
properly; no cross-contamination; use sanitary practices.
Retail/Institutional Food Service Food Safety and Management
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