Video observation of hand-hygiene compliance in a manufacturer of ready-to-eat pie and pastry products

Abstract

Food Industry Centre. Her research interests relate to the impact of human cognition and behavior 8 upon food safety throughout the food supply chain from production through to consumer handling, as 9 well as the design, development, implementation and evaluation of targeted interventions to reduce the 10 risk of foodborne illness from food safety malpractices. Her food safety research projects incorporate 11 three key area; food safety culture in the food and drink manufacturing and processing industry; 12 consumer food safety cognition and behavior in the domestic environment; and, food safety education, 13 communication and training in public health and healthcare settings with vulnerable patient groups, 14 family-caregivers and healthcare professionals. 15 Dr Elizabeth C. Redmond is a Senior Research Fellow at Cardiff Metropolitan University's 16 ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre. Her key academic interests and specialisms include determination 17 and linking cognitive (knowledge, attitudes, risk perceptions and self-reported practices), behavioral 18 and microbiological data to assess/evaluate food safety risks. This also includes the development and 19 evaluation of highly focused food safety education/communication materials and interventions for 20 targeted 'at-risk audiences' and sectors in the food and drink industry. With more than 20 years of 21 research experience, I have undertaken research in a variety of fields relating to food safety/hygiene 22 and handling behaviors in range of settings including the domestic environment, hospitals, day 23 nursery's, food service environments, airlines and in the food industry. 24 2 Video Observation of Hand-Hygiene Compliance in a Manufacturer of 25 Ready-To-Eat Pie and Pastry Products 26 Food-handler hand-hygiene can be a contributory factor for foodborne illness. 27 Cognitive data (knowledge/attitudes/self-reported practices), while informative, are not 28 indicative of behavior, and are subject to biases. Consequently, observation of behavior 29 is superior to survey data. However, researcher presence in direct-observation increases 30 reactivity, whereas video-observation gives comprehensive analysis over a longer 31 period, furthermore, familiarity reduces reactivity. Although video-observation, has 32 been used to assess food safety at retail/foodservice, this valuable method is under-33 utilized in food-manufacturing environments. For the study, footage (24h) was 34 reviewed to assess compliance in a food-manufacturing site with company protocol. 35 Video-observation of food-handlers entering production (n=674) were assessed, upon 36 70 occasions no attempt to implement hand-hygiene was observed. Of attempted hand-37 hygiene practices (n=604), only 2% implemented compliant practices. Although 78% of 38 attempts utilized soap, only 42% included sanitizer. Duration ranged from 1-69s 39 (Median 17s). The study provides hand-hygiene data in an area that observational data 40 is seldom captured.41

Scientific Evidence Supports the Use of Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers as an Effective Alternative to Hand Washing in Retail Food and Food Service Settings When Heavy Soiling Is Not Present on Hands

“…Despite the Food Code's clear recommendations for hand washing and glove use, food worker compliance with recommendations on how and when to wash hands has remained poor for .20 years (25,56,61,92,156,159). Multiple studies performed in food processing and manufacturing plants (49,137) and a variety of retail food service facilities (1), including restaurants and delicatessens (112,138,176), have revealed that workers frequently do not perform hand washing for the recommended amount of time. Other deficiencies in hand washing techniques include failure to use soap (49,60,112,138), not rubbing all parts of the hands and fingers while washing hands (49), and failure to dry hands as recommended (49,60,112,138).…”

Terminology and the understanding of culture, climate, and behavioural change – Impact of organisational and human factors on food safety management

“…This may also be due to 'The Hawthorne Effect' defined by Elton Mayo, where staff follow the procedures in areas when they know they are being observed (Hsueh, 2002) and positive effects can be seen due to close supervision. However, Evans and Redmond (2018) reported on video observation of handwashing and showed both positive and negative behaviours, suggesting that participants may have forgotten that they are being observed or that they do not understand the required behaviour or fail to comply for other reasons. Further research using this technique would be beneficial to gain data on employee behaviour as part of food safety culture and climate.…”

A case study of food handler hand hygiene compliance in high-care and high-risk food manufacturing environments using covert-observation

“…As a result, discrepancies have been determined between data detailing self-reported practices and observed behavioural data (Clayton et al 2002;Clayton et al 2003;Redmond and Griffith 2003). Thus, behavioural observations can indicate a superior method of assessment over the determination of cognition, because observed actions are a reflection of actual behaviour rather than an intermediary measure (Evans and Redmond 2018).…”