Hand washing water temperature - 4.8.6

Hello,

Under clause 4.8.6 what is  deemed " a suitable temperature" for hand washing? Researching the internet it would seem the advised hot water hand washing temperature is 38C, is this correct? Also is there any requirement that the temperature be recorded to ensure it remains at a suitable temperature?

Thanks,

Dave

A similar question came up in 2010 about a failed boiler and this was my response then (however, the link I posted no longer works).  On reflection now though, 45-55 seems on the hot side. 
 

The whole thread is here:  http://www.ifsqn.com...r-temperatures/

I would say it's more to encourage handwashing than any bacterial reason but it shouldn't be overlooked how reluctantly people will wash hands in cold water or do so in an ineffective way.

I had a similar situation; however, fortunately without an auditor on site and contacted the soap manufacturer to ask them whether the soap was still effective; they confirmed in writing that it was and so I briefed the teams to explain it that the boiler had gone down; it was uncomfortable but still safe and please ensure hands were still washed properly. As the auditor was insisting it was illegal, however they might not have accepted that but I still think that was sensible in the factory I was in and would at least try to defend it.

I recall a similar situation though where I couldn't find a reference on what the temperature should be, until I worked in sandwiches and the British Sandwich Association came up trumps!

"i) Hand wash facilities must have taps operated by elbow, knee, foot or sensor systems and not by hand . Water should be premixed to a temperature of 45-50oC. Handwashing must be performed at appropriate intervals."

http://www.sandwiche..._practice.shtml

IMO it probably depends on your product type, your processing environment and how long the boiler would be down. The situation I'm referring to was in a factory with very little handling of product; in a sandwich factory where you can have 20 people on a line handling different components, I might feel differently.

Other thing worth thinking about is in future what would you do? If you don't have a business continuity plan get one! But if you do, have you considered what you would do if the boiler failed again or failed completely? It's worth thinking about.

 

Yes it has been discussed at length previously. I recently told the engineering team to aim for 35c- 40c as we still have ridiculous fluctuations of 20 - 70+ c . Although quite vague I do like this sentence: Water should be at a suitable and comfortable temperature so that staff are not discouraged from using the facilities provided’.

Hello,

 

Under clause 4.8.6 what is  deemed " a suitable temperature" for hand washing? Researching the internet it would seem the advised hot water hand washing temperature is 38C, is this correct? Also is there any requirement that the temperature be recorded to ensure it remains at a suitable temperature?

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

Hi Dave,

I seem to vaguely recall someone posting here a number (or perhaps a range) from the BRC Interp.Guidelines. Unfortunately location/value unremembered. This would not be mandatory unless regulatory though.

There is another long thread here with investigations on the health  significance of the temperatures also. From memory the recommended value was somewhere around 40degC max.

I can recall trying to manually start the mixer in a waterbath running at 44degC (E.coli). Too hot for more than a few minutes.

Quoting form the Interpretation Guidelines:

Hello All,

Some suggest at least 38 deg C to 40.3 deg C. 

regards,

redfox

hello,

have you tried to wash your hands at that temperature? (40ºC)

:headhurts:

really, it is too hot....this came up also early in the 2000 with the USA Food Code 

38ºC is ok, but assure warm&time (at least 20 secs).

best regards,

Leila

Hi

We had an issue at a recent audit regrading not just the temperature of hand washing but hot water in general.

14. Does the calorifier storage capacity meet normal daily fluctuations in hot water use while maintaining a supply temperature of at least 50°C? 

A Hot tap is expected to run at 50 deg C within 1 minute of turning on.

Cold water taps below 20 deg C within 2 minutes of turning on

Monthly monitoring is also expected

Mixer taps are a different issue

​This requirement is part of the L8 Risk Assessment that the business is required to carry out.

Its a H&S issue not food safety but does impact on the water temperature for hand washing

Was there a time when things were simpler?

rdgs

Hello,

Currently our heater is set to 38-40 deg C.

regards,

redfox

Hi

We had an issue at a recent audit regrading not just the temperature of hand washing but hot water in general.

14. Does the calorifier storage capacity meet normal daily fluctuations in hot water use while maintaining a supply temperature of at least 50°C? 

A Hot tap is expected to run at 50 deg C within 1 minute of turning on.

Cold water taps below 20 deg C within 2 minutes of turning on

Monthly monitoring is also expected

Mixer taps are a different issue

 

​This requirement is part of the L8 Risk Assessment that the business is required to carry out.

Its a H&S issue not food safety but does impact on the water temperature for hand washing

 

Was there a time when things were simpler?

 

rdgs

Hi Ian,

I'm confused. Is the data still related to water supplied for handwashing ?

I would have thought 50degC out would be Employee Safety (ie the S in H&S ?), never mind Food.

Or perhaps there is a controlled auto-premixing mechanism ? Certainly hope so.