Slough Borough Council’s environmental health team saw great results from their annual hand swab test carried out last month, finding levels of harmful bacteria on the hands of catering employees to be the lowest in four years.
12 Slough catering outlets were tested, with swabs taken from the hands of 41 workers.
66.7% percent were found to be satisfactory, whilst the remaining 33.3% showed only undesirable levels of bacteria. No unsatisfactory levels were found on any employees.
The survey targeted catering businesses around Slough High Street as part of June’s National Food Awareness Week.
Kulwant Randhawa, environmental health officer for Slough Borough Council, said: “We have achieved a year on year reduction of unsatisfactory level hand swabs, and this year found no employees to have this most harmful level.
“These great results demonstrate the majority of food handlers show satisfactory levels of personal hygiene. Despite this result, work is still needed to reduce the percentage of undesirable levels. “
Councillor Shafiq Chaudhry, commissioner for Slough community and leisure, said: “The environmental health team have done a great job publicising the importance of good hygiene and hand washing standards, holding public information stands for businesses and homes alike.
“It’s great that the council’s messages on thorough hand washing are getting through to food business operators, with standards constantly improving.”
The Slough council’s environmental health team offers top tips for hand washing:
* Always wash your hands after using the toilet and handling raw meat
* Wash hands thoroughly using soap and hot water. Running fingertips under the tap for a couple of seconds does not remove dirt or bacteria
* Make sure you soap in between fingers and around the wrists, paying particular attention to areas that gather dirt such as around thumb and fingernails
* Dry hands thoroughly
Anyone wanting food hygiene advice should contact the environmental health team on 01753 875255 or e-mail foodandsafety@slough.gov.uk.
Slough Borough Council
