Food Protection Trends - March/April 2018 - 122

PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE

Valerie N. Morrill,1 Anna M. Fabiszewski de
Aceituno,1 Faith E. Bartz,1 Norma Heredia,2
Santos Garcia,2 David J. Shumaker,3 James
Grubb,3 James W. Arbogast3 and Juan S. Leon1*

Food Protection Trends, Vol 38, No. 2, p. 122-128
Copyright© 2018, International Association for Food Protection
6200 Aurora Ave., Suite 200W, Des Moines, IA 50322-2864

Hubert Dept. of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health,
Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA
Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología, Facultad de Ciencias
Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás,
Nuevo Leon 66451, México
3
GOJO Industries, Inc., Akron, Ohio 44311, USA
1

2

Visible Soil as an Indicator of Bacteria
Concentration on Farmworkers' Hands
ABSTRACT
Visible soil on farmworker hands has been assumed
to indicate microbial contamination that may lead to
contamination of produce and illness in the consumer.
To test this assumption, we assessed the relationship
of visible soil with microbial load on farmworker hands.
78 farmworkers harvested tomatoes for 30 minutes,
practiced hand hygiene (hand wash, hand sanitizers) and
rinsed their hands in 0.1% peptone solution. Hand rinses
were analyzed for turbidity (median Absorbance600nm
0.0815 ± 0.0336 IQR) and microbial load (median log10
CFU/hand ± IQR: E. coli 1.27 ± 0, Enterococcus 3.75
± 1.66, and coliforms 2.23 ± 1.13). After hands were
photographed between hand hygiene and rinsing, they
were assigned a "Visible Hand Dirtiness Score" from 0 (no
visible soil) to 7 (highly visible soil) (median Score 4 ± 2
IQR). Hand score and turbidity were significantly correlated
(rho = 0.549, P < 0.001). Hand score and Enteroccocus
concentrations were weakly correlated (rho = 0.273, P =
0.015) but not coliforms (P > 0.05) or E. coli (P > 0.05).
Our results suggest that while visible hand soil is a good

proxy for hand rinse turbidity, visible soil is not a strong
indicator for all microorganisms on farmworker hands.

INTRODUCTION
An estimated one in six Americans, or 48 million
individuals, are infected with foodborne illness due
to pathogen contamination of food each year (4).
Contaminated produce caused an estimated 46% of these
illnesses in the past decade, more than any other food
source (25). Produce may be contaminated through the
transfer of microorganisms from farmworkers' hands
(18). Farmworker hands may be contaminated with
pathogens from the human host (e.g., lack of hygiene
and sanitation after defecating (27)) or the environment
(e.g., animals, other produce, equipment, water or soil
(2, 6, 17, 23, 24, 28)). However, enteric pathogens
causing foodborne illness, including those on produce
and farmworker hands are rare and difficult to detect
(1, 11, 13). Thus, previous studies have used indicator
organisms to measure the microbiological contamination
of hands (19, 21, 22).

*Author for correspondence: Telephone: +1 404.317.5042; E-mail: juan.leon@emory.edu

122

Food Protection Trends March/April


http://www.foodprotection.org/files/food-protection-trends/mar-apr-18-morrill.pdf

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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