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Home›Courses›Safety Training›Real Story About Hand Washing and Bacteria

Real Story About Hand Washing and Bacteria

13 minutesENSafety TrainingOSHA General Duty Clause, 29 CFR 1910.141 (Sanitation), FDA Food Code, CDC Hand Hygiene Guidelines
Quick Answer

Real Story About Hand Washing and Bacteria is a 13-minute online course that educates employees on proper hand washing techniques, the science of bacterial transmission, and the importance of personal hygiene in preventing workplace illness. It is designed for food service workers, healthcare support staff, hospitality employees, and any workforce requiring hygiene awareness and includes a downloadable certificate of completion.

Course Overview

Proper hand hygiene is recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one of the most effective measures to prevent the spread of infectious disease. In food service alone, the CDC estimates that contaminated hands are a contributing factor in a significant portion of foodborne illness outbreaks. OSHA's General Duty Clause requires employers to maintain a workplace free from recognized health hazards, and industries such as food processing, food service, healthcare, and childcare face specific sanitation requirements from agencies including the FDA, state health departments, and local health codes. Employers who fail to maintain adequate hygiene practices risk regulatory action, illness outbreaks, and significant liability.

This course gives your employees a clear, practical understanding of why hand washing matters and how to do it correctly. Your team will learn the science behind how bacteria and viruses spread through hand contact, proper hand washing techniques that actually eliminate pathogens, when and how to use gloves and hand sanitizers, and the role of personal hygiene in maintaining a safe and sanitary workplace. The course features a training consultant who walks through real scenarios that demonstrate how quickly bacteria can spread through a facility.

What You'll Learn

  • How bacteria and viruses are transmitted through hand contact in the workplace
  • Proper hand washing technique - duration, water temperature, soap use, and drying methods
  • When hand washing is required - before food handling, after restroom use, after touching contaminated surfaces
  • Proper use and limitations of disposable gloves and hand sanitizers
  • The connection between personal hygiene, clothing cleanliness, and bacterial contamination
  • How to maintain sanitary practices in high-risk environments like food preparation areas

Who Needs This Training

  • Food service and food processing workers subject to FDA Food Code requirements
  • Healthcare support staff, including custodial and dietary workers in medical facilities
  • Childcare and education facility workers responsible for maintaining hygienic environments
  • Hospitality workers in hotels, resorts, and event venues where guest health is a priority
  • Manufacturing workers in pharmaceutical, cosmetics, or food production environments
  • Any employee in a shared workplace where illness prevention is important

Regulatory Background

While OSHA does not have a standalone hand washing standard, the General Duty Clause (Section 5(a)(1)) requires employers to address recognized health hazards in the workplace, including infectious disease transmission. OSHA's Sanitation standard (29 CFR 1910.141) requires employers to provide adequate hand washing facilities. The FDA Food Code - adopted in whole or in part by most state and local health departments - requires food handlers to wash hands at specific intervals and mandates that food establishments provide accessible hand washing stations with soap and disposable towels. Healthcare facilities must comply with CDC hand hygiene guidelines and CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) infection control requirements. Foodborne illness outbreaks traced to inadequate hand hygiene can result in regulatory closure, lawsuits, and significant reputational damage for food service operators.

Frequently Asked Questions

The CDC recommends washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds - roughly the time it takes to hum the Happy Birthday song twice. This duration is necessary to create enough friction and surfactant action to dislodge and remove bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens from the skin's surface. Shorter hand washing has been shown to leave significant bacterial contamination on hands.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers (at least 60 percent alcohol) are effective at reducing many types of germs but are not a complete substitute for hand washing. Sanitizers are less effective when hands are visibly dirty or greasy, do not eliminate all types of germs (such as norovirus and bacterial spores), and do not remove chemicals or heavy contamination. The CDC recommends hand washing with soap and water as the preferred method, with hand sanitizer used only when soap and water are not available.
The FDA Food Code requires food handlers to wash hands and exposed forearms thoroughly using soap, warm water (at least 100 degrees F), and vigorous friction for at least 20 seconds. Hand washing is required before food preparation, after handling raw meat, after using the restroom, after touching the face or hair, after sneezing or coughing, after handling garbage, and after any activity that may contaminate the hands. Food establishments must provide accessible hand washing sinks with soap and disposable towels.
Yes. While enforcement varies by industry and jurisdiction, employers can face regulatory action for inadequate hand hygiene. Food service establishments are subject to health department inspections that specifically evaluate hand washing compliance. Healthcare facilities face CMS survey findings for infection control deficiencies. Any employer can be cited under OSHA's General Duty Clause if inadequate hygiene practices create a recognized health hazard. Foodborne illness outbreaks can also trigger lawsuits and significant financial liability.
No. Disposable gloves are a supplement to hand washing, not a replacement. Hands must be washed before putting on gloves and after removing them. Gloves can develop micro-tears during use that allow bacteria to reach the skin, and removing gloves can transfer contamination to the hands. Gloves must be changed between tasks, after handling raw food products, and whenever they become torn or contaminated. Wearing gloves without proper hand washing can create a false sense of security.

Related Courses

Food service and healthcare employers often pair hand hygiene training with Infectious Disease: Control and Prevention for broader communicable disease awareness. Employers in the restaurant industry should also consider Preventing Slips and Falls in Restaurants and Restaurant - Sanitation and Health for Food Service Workers to build a complete food service safety program.

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$24.95
per person
Volume Pricing
Team Size Price per Person
1 - 9$24.95
10 - 24$19.95
25 - 49$17.95
50 - 99$17.50
Subtotal $24.95

Certificate of completion included. Downloadable upon passing the final assessment.

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$24.95
per person