HACCP hand hygiene protocol for food handlers

Staff hands are the main route of cross-contamination in a food factory, a catering kitchen or a bakery: they transfer bacteria such as Listeria, Salmonella or Staphylococcus aureus and viruses from raw materials, waste, surfaces or the body itself to ready-to-eat food. This protocol describes, step by step, the washing, rinsing, drying and sanitising of the hands of staff who handle food, integrated as a prerequisite of the HACCP plan required by Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. All doses and times come from the technical data sheets of Instaquim hand hygiene products; steps that involve no product are described generically.

Materials required

• Hand Bact Pro: perfume-free hand gel for places where hygiene for food handling is required. Used neat, with a dispenser; pH 6.0 ± 0.5. 4x5 kg format.
• Derbac: perfume-free sanitising hand gel, an alternative with the same method of use (neat, with a dispenser) and pH 6.0 ± 0.5. 10 kg and 4x5 kg formats.
• Hidro Bact Pro: hydroalcoholic product for rinse-free hand washing (Ethyl alcohol, Aqua, Glycerin, Hydroxyethylcellulose), pH 6.5 ± 1.0. 4x5 l and 12x500 ml formats.
• Gerbac: rinse-free hand washing gel containing Didecyldimonium chloride, pH 7 ± 1. 10 l, 4x5 l, 12x500 ml and 6x800 ml formats.
• InstaBact® DM: ready-to-use, rinse-free antiseptic spray for healthy skin. Contains ethanol 65 % w/w, isopropyl alcohol 3.1 % w/w and alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride 0.008 %. 12x500 ml, 6x800 ml, 4x5 l and 10 l formats.
• Running drinking water at a hands-free wash-hand basin (foot, knee or sensor operated), used exclusively for hands
• Single-use paper towels in a dispenser and a hands-free lidded bin
• Dispensers for soap and for the rinse-free product
• HACCP plan record (sheet or digital system) for noting the checks

Step-by-step procedure

1. Preparation: remove watches, rings and bracelets, and roll sleeves up above the wrist. Nails must be short, clean and free of varnish.
2. Wet the hands: operate the tap without using the hands and thoroughly wet hands, wrists and forearms with drinking water.
3. Apply the soap: dispense one dose of Hand Bact Pro onto previously wetted hands. The product is used neat, with a dispenser. As an alternative, Derbac is used in the same way. Both are perfume-free gels with pH 6.0 ± 0.5, indicated for laboratories, cutting rooms and abattoirs, kitchens and the dairy industry.
4. Rub for about 30 seconds: the Hand Bact Pro technical data sheet specifies rubbing one dose of product over wetted hands for about 30 seconds. Cover palms, backs, between the fingers, thumbs, fingertips, nails and wrists.
5. Rinse with water: rinse under running drinking water until all the soap is removed, letting the water run from the wrist towards the fingers so as not to carry dirt back onto the hands. Hand Bact Pro expressly specifies rinsing with water.
6. Dry with single-use paper: dry hands, between the fingers, wrists and forearms completely. If the tap is not hands-free, turn it off with the same paper. Discard the paper in the lidded bin without touching it with the hands. The rinse-free product in the next step must be applied to dry skin.
7. Sanitise without rinsing: put 3 to 5 ml of Hidro Bact Pro in the palm of the hand and rub for at least 30 seconds until the product evaporates. No rinsing is required, although it may be done with drinking water. Gerbac is applied with the same dose and the same time. Where the HACCP plan requires an antiseptic for healthy skin, apply InstaBact® DM to healthy, clean, dry skin: 3 ml (one pump) and rub for at least 60 seconds or until it evaporates; for virucidal activity allow 120 seconds of contact.
8. Verify and record: before touching food or utensils or putting on gloves, check that the hands are completely dry and free of product residue. Record the checks and any non-conformity in the HACCP plan record, with date, time and person responsible.

Verification and control

The effectiveness of the protocol depends more on technique and frequency than on the product. Verify by means of: daily visual inspection of the hands (nails, covered wounds, absence of jewellery); daily check that the soap, rinse-free product and paper dispensers contain product and work; periodic observation of technique by the quality manager (full coverage, about 30 seconds of rubbing with soap and at least 30 seconds with the rinse-free product); and, where the HACCP plan provides for it, microbiological sampling of hands with contact plates or swabs, at the frequency and with the limits set by the plan itself. Clean the dispensers at every refill, without topping up over residual product. Any deviation is recorded as a non-conformity and corrected through operator training.

Safety and PPE

• The products in this protocol are applied directly to the skin and do not require gloves or goggles for normal use.
• Hidro Bact Pro and Gerbac are liquids with flammable vapours: keep away from heat, hot surfaces, sparks, open flames and any other ignition source. InstaBact® DM is a liquid with highly flammable vapours (H225) and causes serious eye irritation (H319): do not smoke, keep the container tightly closed and, in case of contact with the eyes, rinse cautiously with water for several minutes.
• Apply rinse-free products only to healthy skin; cover cuts and wounds with a waterproof, visibly coloured dressing and a glove over it.
• Do not mix with other chemicals or refill dispensers with different products.
• Disposable gloves are no substitute for hand washing: they are put on over clean, dry hands and changed at every change of task.

Recommended Instaquim products

For the food handling area, the reference combination is the perfume-free gel Hand Bact Pro (or Derbac) for washing with rinsing and Hidro Bact Pro or Gerbac as the rinse-free product, both with a 3-5 ml dose and at least 30 seconds of rubbing. InstaBact® DM, a ready-to-use antiseptic spray for healthy skin, is reserved for the points where the HACCP plan requires antiseptic activity with a defined contact time (60 s, or 120 s for virucidal activity). For toilets, changing rooms, bars and restaurants, where perfume is not an issue, Instaquim offers Dergel (pleasantly scented, non-irritating hand washing gel), Derbel (pearlescent gel with skin protectors whose continued use does not irritate the skin), the foam soaps Dergel Foam (in bags for foam dispensers, 6x800 ml format) and Dermo Foam (neutral pH, does not irritate sensitive skin), and the skin-protecting liquid soap Dermobel, suitable as a shower gel and shampoo for personal hygiene in changing rooms.

Applicable regulations: Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (Annex II, Chapter VIII, personal hygiene, and Chapter I, wash-hand basins with running water and materials for hygienic cleaning and drying); Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 for establishments handling food of animal origin; Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 on biocidal products for products with antiseptic activity; Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (CLP) for the hazard labelling of hydroalcoholic products; and the company's HACCP system as the framework for recording and verification.

Frequently asked questions

Which hand soap is suitable for staff who handle food?

A perfume-free gel formulated for hygiene in food handling. In the Instaquim catalogue these are Hand Bact Pro and Derbac: both are used neat with a dispenser, have a pH of 6.0 ± 0.5, contain no perfumes and are indicated for laboratories, cutting rooms and abattoirs, kitchens and the dairy industry.

How long should the hands be rubbed with the soap?

The Hand Bact Pro technical data sheet specifies rubbing one dose of product over previously wetted hands for about 30 seconds and then rinsing with water. The time is counted from the moment the soap covers the whole surface of the hands, including between the fingers, thumbs and nails.

What dose of hydroalcoholic gel is applied and for how long is it rubbed?

According to the Hidro Bact Pro and Gerbac technical data sheets, 3 to 5 ml in the palm of the hand, rubbing for at least 30 seconds. No rinsing is required, although it may be done with drinking water. With InstaBact® DM the dose is 3 ml (one pump), rubbing for at least 60 seconds or until it evaporates, and 120 seconds for virucidal activity.

Does hydroalcoholic gel replace washing with soap and water?

No. Rinse-free products are applied to clean, dry hands: InstaBact® DM specifies applying the product to healthy, clean, dry skin. When the hands are visibly dirty or carry food residues, they must first be washed with Hand Bact Pro or Derbac, rinsed and dried, and only then is the rinse-free product applied.

What is the difference between Hidro Bact Pro, Gerbac and InstaBact® DM?

Hidro Bact Pro and Gerbac are rinse-free hand washing products with the same dose (3-5 ml) and time (at least 30 seconds); Hidro Bact Pro is composed of Ethyl alcohol, Aqua, Glycerin and Hydroxyethylcellulose, and Gerbac adds Didecyldimonium chloride. InstaBact® DM is a ready-to-use antiseptic spray for healthy skin, with ethanol 65 % w/w and isopropyl alcohol 3.1 % w/w, with contact times of 60 s (or until evaporation) and 120 s for virucidal activity.

How often should food handlers wash their hands?

Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 requires that persons working in food handling areas maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness; the specific frequency is set by each company's HACCP plan. As a minimum: on entering the handling area, after using the toilet, after touching waste, raw materials, money or a mobile phone, after coughing, sneezing or blowing the nose, and at every change of task or gloves.