Smart Hand Washing and Drying
Our products address one of the most important aspects of hygiene, namely hand washing, and respond to recommendations issued by the World Health Organization following the 2009 H1N1 flu virus outbreak.
The link between foodborne illness and proper hand washing and drying
Studies have shown that an estimated 25-40% of foodborne illnesses are caused by poor hygiene*. When an outbreak occurs, the reputation and future of a company can hang in the balance. Establishing an effective organization-wide hand washing and drying program is a challenging but essential step to promote safety and reduce the risk of an outbreak.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, proper hand washing and drying is the single most important means of preventing the spread of infection. This applies to food processing plants, restaurants, hospitals and anywhere food is prepared, including our homes.
Georgia-Pacific’s single-use paper products are an integral component of proper hand washing and drying. ‘Single-use’ says it all: the paper product will do its job efficiently and will not be used again because it has been disposed of, along with all the germs captured.
Healthful hints
After washing hands, you can help remove remaining germs by drying hands well on a paper towel, which produces friction to leave hands cleaner.
Developing the habit of wrapping the paper towel around the fingers when drying hands helps to remove additional germs in the creases between the fingers, a hard-to-reach and often neglected area.
* (Bryan 1988, Bean and Griffin 1990, Bean et al. 1996, Olsen et al. 2000)