Showing posts with label personal hygiene. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal hygiene. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Baby Wipes Recalled Due to Bacterial Contamination

 A PA firm is recalling baby wipes after tests showed that the product contains Burkholderia cepacia. This gram negative bacteria is considered more of a secondary pathogen in that it only causes infection in individuals with underlying health issues, especially those in hospitals. According to the CDC, B. cepacia is a hardy organism in that it is more resistant to common antibiotics. It has also been found to be more resistant to antiseptics. This might be a reason why it was found in this product, and is also a good reason for conducting a recall in that it will have exposure to a high risk group...babies.

FDA Recall Noticehttp://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm420426.htm
Nutek Disposables, Inc. Issues Alert Due to Potential Bacteria in Baby Wipes

Contact:
Consumer: 1-855-646-4351
Media: Sean Wood 1-212-445-8310
swood@webershandwick.com
Hallie Bozzi 1-212-445-8276 hbozzi@webershandwick.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Oct. 25, 2014 — MCELHATTAN, PA — Nutek Disposables, Inc. of McElhattan, PA has initiated a nationwide voluntary product recall at the retail level of all lots of baby wipes that it manufactured under the brand names Cuties, Diapers.com, Femtex, Fred's, Kidgets, Member's Mark, Simply Right, Sunny Smiles, Tender Touch, and Well Beginnings, because some packages may contain bacteria. These wipes were distributed by Nutek prior to October 21, 2014 to the following retail stores: Walgreens, Sam's Club, Family Dollar, Fred's, and Diapers.com.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Food Workers Likely to Work When Sick

 A recent study reports that many Americans will go to work while they are sick, unfortunately, many of those may be people who work with food.

Therefore, it is important that food workers, as well as their managers, understand the risks.  Companies who work with food, whether they are food service, retail, or processing, need to have strict guidelines on how to handle sick workers.  FDA provides a Health and Hygiene Handbook for food employees.

 
LA Times
More than 1 in 4 Americans go to work while sick
By Shan Li
 
February 20, 2014, 11:56 a.m.
 
More than one in four Americans are so afraid of missing work that they head into the office even when sniffling and sneezing, a study says.
  
Many are worried about falling behind on their jobs, missing pay or facing the wrath of bosses who expect them to show up no matter what, according to a survey by NSF International, which tests and certifies public health products.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Handwashing - How many are actually improperly washing?

In a recently released study, researchers found that only 5 percent of people wash their hands correctly. While the study does point out that many people do not wash their hands correctly, the reported 5% seems lower than what we would expect. There may be a few issues with the study.

1) The US Food Code states that proper scrubbing of hands is 10 to 15 seconds (total handwashing time is 20 seconds), while the study uses 15 to 20 seconds. (http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/ucm181242.htm)

2) All observations were conducted on a college town. Perhaps not a great cross-section of the general public.

3) The study was conducted by visual observation – someone standing around in the restroom watching others….now, if  some creeper is hanging out in a bathroom and staring at you, are you going to move on a little quicker than normal and rewash later?

Only 5 Percent of Restroom Patrons Wash Hands Properly, Study Finds

And 1 in 10 don't scrub up at all after flushinghttp://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/06/11/only-5-percent-of-restroom-patrons-wash-hands-properly-study-finds

USNews Health June 11, 2013 RSS Feed Print

TUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- The next time you reach out to shake someone's hand, consider this finding: A recent study of hand-washing habits found only 5 percent of people who used the restroom scrubbed long enough to kill germs that can cause infections.
Thirty-three percent didn't use soap, and 10 percent didn't wash their hands at all, according to the study, based on Michigan State University researchers' observations of more than 3,700 people in a college town's public restrooms.

"These findings were surprising to us because past research suggested that proper hand washing is occurring at a much higher rate," lead investigator Carl Borchgrevink, an associate professor of hospitality business, said in a university news release.

Among the other findings:

Men were less likely than women to clean their hands. Fifteen percent of men and 7 percent of women didn't wash their hands at all. When they did wash their hands, only 50 percent of men used soap, compared with 78 percent of women.
People were less likely to wash their hands if the sink was dirty.
People were more likely to wash their hands earlier in the day. This may be because when people are out at night for a meal or drinks, they are relaxed and hand washing becomes less important, the researchers suggested.
People were more likely to wash their hands if they saw a sign encouraging them to do so.