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Episode Transcription
From Washington State University Extension, this is Food Safety in a Minute.
Have you wondered why hand washing guidelines suggest 20 seconds? Scientists have studied the time necessary to remove harmful pathogens when you follow a prescribed pattern of hand washing. That time is twenty seconds.
During those twenty seconds of scrubbing, it’s up to you to develop and practice an effective, repetitive pattern of washing. Scrub palms, backs of your hands, between fingers, wrists, and under fingernails. Give equal time to each of your hands. People tend to do a better job washing their non-dominate hand. Right handers do a better job washing their left hands and vice versa. Examine your pattern of hand washing and make positive changes in that pattern. Wash for twenty seconds, there’s science behind the recommendations.
This is Susie Craig from Washington State University Extension, Food Safety in a Minute.
Resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Show Me the Science – How to Wash Your Hands. Accessed online 2/1/22.