Drawing attention to the ‘salmonella’ virus found in surprise eggs recently, Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Specialist Dr. Nurullah Dikmen said that 60 percent of those working in the food industry do not wash their hands properly.
“EMPLOYEES IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY CANNOT WASH THEIR HANDS CORRECTLY”
Mentioning that employees in the food industry do not wash their hands properly, Dr. Dikmen said, “There has been a recent contamination of food by microorganisms. It is stated that salmonella contamination was found in surprise eggs. How are microorganisms transmitted to these closed or packaged foods? The reason of this; It can be human, animal, food additives, materials used. Salmonella is transmitted mainly through human feces. There are people we call ‘porters’. They carry sarmonella but do not show any symptoms themselves. These people are completely contagious. A lot of research has been done in the food industry. The common point of these studies was that 60 percent of people working in the food industry did not wash their hands correctly at every wash. They wash their hands but do not wash them properly. Apart from these, the containers used should be cleaned well and should not be left behind. If you leave 1 germ, millions of germs can grow. “The germs that get into the package can get on foods such as dairy products and chocolate and infect people again,” he said.
MILLIONS CAN GROW
Expressing that a microorganism can multiply millions of times under suitable conditions, Uzm. Dr. Nurullah Dikmen, “People with Salmonella may have symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, and cramping abdominal pain. We call these food poisoning, but sometimes it can be viral or bacterial. We do not expect these in products packaged under normal conditions. We assume everything is clean. It means that there may be leaks from time to time. Not much would happen if everything was cleaned from the wedding and made from pasteurized milk. So there is an effect of the human factor somewhere. A negligence creates a chain of situations. Salmonella was found in the containers of the factory in question. It means it was not cleaned properly. Normally, it is difficult for us to look at every packaged food with prejudice. We have to trust these packaged products. That’s why they shouldn’t break our trust. This requires meticulous follow-up,” he said.
“IT IS IMPORTANT TO WASH BY RUBBING HANDS AND FINGERS”
Dikmen, who also made statements about how the workers working in the sector should wash their hands, said:
“There are issues that employees in the food industry should pay attention to when washing their hands. While these employees are washing their hands, they should first wet their hands with water, then lather their hands with a sufficient amount of soap and wash them by rubbing between the fingers, the top and bottom of their hands. In addition, the fingertips should be washed by rubbing them in the palms. After this rubbing, it is necessary to dry the hands with a paper towel after rinsing. In addition to washing hands, drying them is also very important. Paper towels are healthier for those working in the food industry. The other wool towel should be personalized. A towel that everyone dries together is a source of contamination. Hands should be washed and dried properly, especially after using the toilet.”