Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 126

Visible Hand Dirtiness Score was significantly moderately
associated (P > 0.001, rho = 0.549) with turbidity when a
Spearman's correlation test was used (Table 3).

conclusion, our results suggest that Visible Hand Dirtiness
Score and Turbidity were correlated to concentrations of
some but not all indicator bacteria.

Relationships among visible hand dirtiness score,
turbidity, and number of indicator bacteria per hand
E. coli, Enterococcus and coliform concentrations on
hands represented the full range between our lower limit
of detection (1.27 log10 CFU/hand) and the upper limit of
quantification (7.27 log10 CFU/hand) by our method of
enumeration (12). The median concentration was the highest
for Enterococcus and lowest for E. coli (Table 3).
To determine if there were significant relationships
between bacterial load and visible soil, we performed
Spearman's correlation tests (Table 3). The relationship
between Enterococcus and Visible Hand Dirtiness Score
was significant (P < 0.05), but the rho value (rho = 0.273)
was less than 0.3, suggesting that the relationship was weak
(5). The relationship between Enterococcus and turbidity
was also significant (P < 0.05), and the rho value (rho =
0.352) between 0.3 and 0.7 indicated a moderate correlation
(5). There were no other significant relationships. When
stratified by the five different hand hygiene groups, the
relationship between Enterococcus or coliforms with turbidity
was positively correlated for two of the five hygiene groups,
and the relationship between E. coli and turbidity was nonsignificant (data not shown). When stratified by the different
hand hygiene groups, the relationship between each of the
bacterial indicators and the corresponding Visible Hand
Dirtiness Score was non-significant (data not shown). In

DISCUSSION
The goal of this study was to determine if, on farmworker
hands, visible soil on hands was associated with bacterial
load. Of the microbes tested for, Enterococcus had the highest
concentration and E. coli the lowest concentration on
farmworker hands, results that were similar to those of our
previous study, performed between February and October
2014 (6). The Visible Hand Dirtiness Score seems to be a
valid measure of soil, in that it was moderately correlated
with turbidity of hand rinse samples. Using this score, we
found that both Visible Hand Dirtiness Score (rho = 0.273)
and turbidity (rho = 0.352) were significantly associated with
Enterococcus, but not with E. coli and coliforms.
The Visible Hand Dirtiness Score, a scoring system
created to rank visible hand dirtiness based on photographs,
was significantly moderately associated with turbidity, an
objective measure of soil on hands. This correlation may
be because both visible hand dirtiness and turbidity are
measuring a similar characteristic (visible soil). However,
it is important to note that the correlation was not strong,
perhaps because of differences in measurement of other
factors (15). For example, all soil visible on the hand and
captured by the Visible Hand Dirtiness Score may not be
removed by the process of hand rinsing and therefore not
measured by turbidity. Further, a turbidity reading may
measure some soil types (3) that are not visible to the naked

TABLE 3. Farmworkers' hands (n = 78) description and relationship between Visible Hand
Dirtiness Score; median E. coli, Enterococcus, and coliform concentrations;
and Turbidity per hand
Spearman's Rank against
Hand Score

rho

P-value

0.549†

< 0.001*

0.826

0.094

0.413

0.273

0.016*

0.352†

0.002*

1.13

-0.089

0.440

-0.095

0.407

0.0336

0.549†

< 0.001*

Median

IQR‡

4

2

Log10 E. coli CFU per hand

1.27

0

-0.025

Log10 Enterococcus CFU per hand

3.75

1.66

Log10 Coliforms CFU per hand

2.23
0.0815

Visible Hand Dirtiness Score

Turbidity (Absorbance600nm)

P < 0.05
0.3 < rho < 0.7, moderate correlation (see Methods)
‡
IQR: interquartile range, measure of variability

*

†

126

Food Protection Trends March/April

rho

P-value

Spearman's Rank
against Turbidity



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018

Peracetic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide Post-dip Decay Kinetics on Red Meat and Poultry
Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Raw Milk Consumption in the Pacific Northwest
Knowledge and Implementation of Good Agricultural Practices among Kentucky Fresh Produce Farmers
Visible Soil as an Indicator of Bacteria Concentration on Farmworkers’ Hands
Beyond the Bio - Jim Dickson
PDG Highlight - The Food Safety Culture Professional Development Group
General Interest Paper Leveraging Current Opportunities to Communicate Lessons Learned from Root Cause Analysis to Prevent Foodborne Illness Outbreaks
General Interest Paper Safe Food for Canadians Regulations: Is Your Business Ready?
Industry Products
Coming Events
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - Cover1
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - Cover2
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 89
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 90
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 91
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 92
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 93
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 94
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 95
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - Peracetic Acid and Hydrogen Peroxide Post-dip Decay Kinetics on Red Meat and Poultry
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 97
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 98
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 99
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 100
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 101
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 102
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 103
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Regarding Raw Milk Consumption in the Pacific Northwest
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 105
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 106
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 107
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 108
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 109
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 110
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - Knowledge and Implementation of Good Agricultural Practices among Kentucky Fresh Produce Farmers
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 112
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 113
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 114
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 115
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 116
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 117
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 118
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 119
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 120
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 121
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - Visible Soil as an Indicator of Bacteria Concentration on Farmworkers’ Hands
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 123
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 124
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 125
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 126
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 127
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 128
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 129
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - Beyond the Bio - Jim Dickson
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 131
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 132
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - PDG Highlight - The Food Safety Culture Professional Development Group
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - General Interest Paper Leveraging Current Opportunities to Communicate Lessons Learned from Root Cause Analysis to Prevent Foodborne Illness Outbreaks
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 135
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 136
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 137
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 138
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 139
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - General Interest Paper Safe Food for Canadians Regulations: Is Your Business Ready?
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 141
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - Industry Products
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 143
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 144
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 145
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 146
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 147
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - Coming Events
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - Cover3
Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - Cover4
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