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Handwashing, the most important step for food safety. Food safety for the Average Joe-Article Two

In 2002, a Food Standards agency conducted a survey of 1,000 food workers. Of these 39%...390 of those surveyeddid not wash their hands after using the toilet. 53% didnt wash their hands before preparing food. Broken down even further, it has been determined (based on this as well as other surveys) that half of all men and a quarter of all women make a regular practice of not washing their hands after visiting restroom facilities.

Some of the reasons people give for not washing their hands properly or at all are 1) Lack of time/too busy (54%) 2) Forgetting/having to remember (18%) and 3) Distractions with other/competing tasks.

Handwashing is the simplest--yet the most neglected--disease prevention practice. Germs can survive for up to three hours on hands. Thorough handwashing with hot, soapy water prevents bacteria from transferring from hands to foods. Some of the most hazardous foodborne illnesses can be passed through improper handwashing. E.coli 0157:H7, the deadly foodborne disease that killed a number of people in the Pacific Northwest in the 1990s, is one that can be passed from person to person by improper or neglected handwashing.

Hands must be properly washed after tasks like using the restroom and before preparing food. It is interesting to note that Washington States Food Code mandates that food workers wash their hands in the restroom after using the facilities and then again inside the kitchen before preparing food. One handwashing is for show, because the food worker will re-contaminate his/her hands after touching doorknobs and such because they were handled by people who had not washed. The second handwashing is the real handwashing required for food safety.

It is important that hands be washed properly to prevent illness. The rinse and go method that is all too common nowadays is as ineffective for preventing foodborne bacteria as not washing at all.

How To Wash Your Hands Properly
Use soap and warm, running water.
Make sure to wet hands before applying the soap
Apply a liberal amount of soap to hands
Rub your hands vigorously for 20 seconds (two rounds of Happy Birthday)
Wash all surfaces, including:
o backs of hands
o wrists
o between fingers
o tips of fingers
o under fingernails
o Rinse your hands well
Dry your hands with a paper towel.

Many people think that a nail brush is necessary for handwashing, and will keep one near the sink for that reason. The problem is that the nail brush becomes moist and stays that way. Moisture is a fertile breeding ground for bacteria. Unless your nail brush is kept in a sanitizer solution, do not keep a nail brush at the sink. It is possible to wash under the fingernails without using a nail brush.

Microbial or antibacterial soaps are not necessary for proper handwashing. From the New York Times:

Studies show that more than 70 percent of liquid hand soaps sold are now labeled antibacterial, and Americans seem increasingly willing to pay a premium for them. But the truth is that most consumers may not always be getting what they think they are. Over the years, studies have repeatedly shown that antibacterial soaps are no better than plain old soap and water.

One study, published in The Journal of Community Health in 2003, followed adults in 238 households in New York City for nearly a year.

Month after month, the researchers found no difference in the number of microbes that turned up on the hands of people who used either antibacterial soap or regular soap. At least four other large studies have had similar findings.

In fact, the only question now may be whether using antibacterial soaps can cause more harm than good by creating strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Last month, the Food and Drug Administration convened experts to discuss, among other things, whether antibacterial products should be more tightly regulated because of the potential risks they pose.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Studies show that antibacterial soap is no more effective than regular soap.

Due to the recent popularity of waterless hand sanitizers, the misconception abounds that this solution can replace handwashing. While it is good to keep the solution on hand for situations where hands cannot be washed, such as when you are not at home and are not near handwashing facilities, it does not replace proper handwashing, nor is it approved as a substitution by any Environmental Health Agency in America. The Food and Drug Administration, in regards to regulations concerning proper procedures for food services, recommends that hand sanitizers not be used in place of soap and water but only as an adjunct.

Barbara Almanza, an associate professor at Purdue University who teaches safe sanitation practices to workers, recommends that to properly sanitize the hands, soap and water should be used. A hand sanitizer can not and should not take the place of proper cleansing procedures with soap and water.

The very best defense against foodborne illness being passed from person to person or to a loved one who you are cooking for is proper handwashing.

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Unlike pottery, arrow heads and metal tools, traces of ancient ice creams are not really something that archaeologists can unravel. The ice cream history is therefore elusive and not very well known. People living in climates where ice and snow formed naturally are believed to have enjoyed a form of sorbet since prehistoric time by flavouring snow with fruit, berries and honey. This was probably especially popular in warm regions with high mountains, since snow could be gathered from the high altitudes and brought down to regions where it provided much sought after relief from the heat.

Even though ice cream itself leaves no visible mark in ancient history, items and buildings used for its creation can. Icehouses are for instance known to have existed as early as 2,000 years B.C. in Mesopotamia. Wealthy Mesopotamians had them built along the River Euphrates and used them to store food. We also know from historical sources that several Egyptian pharaohs ordered ice to be shipped to them in the hot and sunny regions in which they lived.

Once of the earliest known instances of true sorbet not only ice and ice houses are the honey and fruit flavoured snow cones that you could buy in Athenian markets during the 5th century BC. Later on, the Romans adopted a lot of Greek traditions, ice cream eating included. The Roman emperor Nero who reigned from 54 to 68 AD did for instance have ice transported to Rome from the mountains and mixed with fruit and toppings.

In 400 B.C. the Persians invented a cool pudding made from vermicelli and rosewater. This chilled treat tastes a bit like a blend of sorbet and rice pudding, and was often mixed with fruits and saffron. Ice was quite readily available to wealthy Persians since they owned so called yakhchals; naturally cooled refrigerators in which ice collected from the mountains could be stored for longer periods of time.

The Arabs play an important role in the history of ice cream since they began using sugar and syrup instead of honey. In the 10th century B.C., sweet ice cream flavoured with fruits and nuts could be purchased in all major Arab cities. The Arabs also began adding milk to the ice-cream, making it more similar to the type of diary based ice-cream that is most widespread today.

It has been hard to determine when the Chinese began enjoy Chinese ice cream, but the first type of Chinese ice cream is believed to have been flavoured with sugar and sold during the warm summer season. Most historians agree that the upper class enjoyed ice-creamed flavoured with fruit juices during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 B.C.) According to History of food by Toussaint-Samat the Chinese may even have created a special ice-cream creation method earlier than the Song Dynasty. This method involved pouring snow and saltpetre over containers filled with syrup. Salt will lower the freezing point of water to subzero. Diary products are still rare in Chinese food, but according to legend Mongols introduced the custom of drinking milk to the Chinese during the Yuan Dynasty and this eventually led to the invention of milky ice-cream.

Ice cream is a tasty desert which can be even tastier if combined with other things like banana bread. Make your own tasty banana breads using these banana bread recipes.

Is milk good for us?

The diary industry would have you believe that all dairy products are good for you, lower blood pressure, increase calcium in the bones and this in turn aids fractures to heal quicker. We have all seen the adverts which stick in your mind as more than half the population will not have read any reports by the dairy industry into these claims, think back to your childhood which advert do you remember.

The old adverts of milk is kind to your teeth, milk the original fast food, CP3V (Calcium, proteins and 3 vitamins) Milk the white stuff: So good the cows want it back!

Most of us would and have been led to believe that drinking milk regularly does not cause coronary artery problems and can actually protect against poor health, as this is what scientists have told us.

These scientists went to say that concerns regarding to much milk and dairy products could be harmful to health as it leads to high cholesterol levels. In fact heart disease death rates among regular milk drinkers were even found to be lower.

The 25-year study of 5,700 Scottish men found that heart disease death rates among men drinking more than a third of a pint of milk each day were 8% lower than those who drank less.

Deaths from cancer and strokes were 10% lower among the regular milk drinkers. The benefits of milk could be linked to its high calcium levels and that this might counteract the adverse effects of the saturated fat content of milk. The latter was a claim by the dairy industry who tried to say that saturated fats are good for you.

However there are two sides to every story. Diary products are a health hazard. They contain no fiber or complex carbohydrates and are laden with saturated fat and cholesterol. Milk in some cases has found to be contaminated with cow's blood and pus and frequently contaminated with pesticides residue, hormones, and antibiotics. Dairy products covers cheese, eggs, milk, yoghurt etc can be linked to constipation, obesity, heart disease, cancer, allergies and other diseases. Worldwide reports claim that 7 out of 10 adults are lactose intolerant and drinking cows milk would seriously bloat them or cause diarrhea.

Yet despite the above we as humans drink milk some consider weird that we drink milk beyond the 'weening' stage after birth, other people just find it weird that we drink the milk of another animal and we feed animal milk to our children on a daily basis, think back to school when most of us were given a free bottle of milk on a daily basis in our first primary years.

A report by Dr B Spook openly warned against the feeding of milk to young children owing to the high protein, cholesterol and saturated fat content often found within milk, he stated that milk can cause allergies and insulin dependant diabetes amongst other conditions.

A report from America the Harvard Nurses Study which began in 1980 and lasted 12 years followed a control group of women mostly aged 34 to 59 and the report clearly showed that in most cases milk does not prevent osteoporosis, In fact just the opposite milk can be a contributor in the formation of the condition owing to the fact that the body draws calcium from the bones to aid in the neutralization of proteins and lactic acids found within milk.. The study also concluded that 67% who drank two or more of the diary industries recommended daily intake were more likely to have heart attacks than those that didn't drink whole milk.

Low-fat milk is an exception to this, the Harvard nurses study did show that those who drank low fat milk and not whole milk did show a reduced risk of heart disease.

The report showed that low fat milk is good for you in that it can aid in lowering blood pressure.

This is where we as consumers need to be aware that the diary industries marketing campaigns and promises that all diary products inclusive of whole milk are not true as we have read in this report. So the next time you go to buy milk think low fat and remember everything in modesty!

References

Report by Dr Ness, Bristol University. Source: Internet

Dr Benjamin Spook, America's former leading authority on child care.

Copyright Brian Fernie T.O.D Coaching Ltd all rights reserved

Brian Fernie (Dip PT, FIOS) is the founder, Director and owner of T.O.D Coaching LTD Scotland's Premier Personal Training Company and Bikini Bootcamp he is also a highly regarded personal trainer and triathlon coach.

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Some parents are turning to Sittercity online to find babysitters while other parents keep an eye on Craigslist postings. When looking at both options, here is what parents found.

Availability and Responsiveness

Craiglist seems to be hit-or-miss most of the time. Sometimes parents had good luck, but others claim that the competition for sitters in their area is so fierce that there is no incentive for these sitters to even return calls.

Sittercity, on the other hand, has a rating system that serves as a great incentive for sitters to respond to your requests (and at least return phone calls) even if they are no longer available for your particular needs.

Price

Some parents found that they could find a less expensive sitter on Craiglist. However, other parents seem to think it was more important to find a great babysitter for their family than a cheap one.

Safety

One of the biggest comforts of Sittercity is the availability of background checks that you do not get from a person on Craigslist. Let's be honest with ourselves. Not every person is as nice as they seem when you meet them.

While running a elderly companion company that focused on providing in-home care for seniors, I received many great resumes from candidates who seemed kind and were considered for employment. However, after running a required background check, I found abuse allegations and one person who even had assaulted her very own mother! Do you think I now wanted to hire her to care for my older clients? No way!

Due to these issues, the assurance of the background checks serve as a great safety feature and a comfort for you. If you find a sitter on Craiglist, you may want to find a service to run a background check on them as well.

Number of Potential Sitters

The number of sitters listed varies greatly by location. Some large cities have a huge listing of sitters on Craigslist, while other areas have very few choices.

Most parents also found that they had a larger pool of potential candidates regularly listed through Sittercity that were available when they needed a sitter regardless of their location.

It seems both methods can find great babysitters, but depending on your area and needs, Sittercity might make the process a little easier.

Beth Howland is a reviewer of parenting products like Sittercity. If you need help finding the right sitter for your family, visit http://www.SittercityReview.com for more information.