Food Safety Victories Emerge            

Washington Weekly (excerpt), Nat'l Restaurant Assoc./ -- 

At the recent 2000 Conference for Food Protection (CFP), industry professionals and other concerned groups developed a consensus position recommending the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lower the Food Code's mandated hand-washing temperature from 110 degrees Farenheit to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, and that the agency study a less restrictive course of regulation of foodservice employee' bare- hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.

"There is no evidence that the higher hand-washing water temperature is advantageous," says National Restaurant Association Vice President of Health & Safety Regulatory Affairs Steven Grover. "Since the higher temperature was uncomfortable for some people, this lower temperature will encourage hand-washing."

As for the issue of bare-hand contact "gloves are not a 'silver bullet' for ridding restaurant kitchens of foodborne pathogens," says Grover.  "The focus need to be on hand-washing."

The CFP brings together food industry, regulators, academics and consumer groups to recommend changes to the existing FDA Food Code.

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