Shocking: How Many Food Workers Don’t Wash hands After Latrine?

What percentage of American food service workers don't wash their hands?  I'd expect most people will be shocked and disgusted at the number of food service workers walk out of the restroom without even turning on the water. The number is way too high!

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),  food service workers properly wash their hands after visiting the bathroom only one out of every three times. This obviously means, two-thirds of the time, they're preparing or delivering your food with soiled hands that could be carrying food borne illnesses.

The sign is always posted, as required by the health department, "All Employees Must Wash Their Hands before Returning to Work."  Apparently, this doesn't sink in for most of the workers.

We get it. Some times people forget," CNN reported. "Or sometimes they’re just vile. Either way, hand washing is important in the whole food service industry." There's good news on the horizon, as technology – and the businesses themselves – are finally coming to your rescue. 

A New York tech startup – PathSpot - has developed a hand hygiene device to better protect employees and customers of food-based businesses from the threat of food borne illnesses and outbreaks.

PathSpot’s device is called the Handscanner.

It’s described as a handwashing lie detector and it’s already being used in 10,000 food service locations worldwide, including franchised Taco Bell, Arby’s and Chopt restaurants. Within two seconds, the device can identify any residual contaminant on the hands and wrist using light fluorescence spectroscopy, an imaging technology already used in healthcare that utilizes safe non-UV LED lights.

According to PathSpot, the hospital-grade technology can instantly detect, especially in hard to clean areas such as beneath fingernails and in and around jewelry and knuckles, including gut biome molecules that can transmit norovirus, E. coli, salmonella, Hepatitis A, Listeria, and other common illnesses.

And cheating is impossible; by using unique employee ID codes, the system can track who’s washed their hands and when.

Is this a violation of your personal privacy?

I'll answer that by saying, oh well if it is! Restaurant customers have the right to be assured their food is clean and the people making the meal and delivering it to your table, are practicing proper hygiene.