• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2023

Skin sanitizers are effective in killing or removing pathogenic microbial contaminants from the skin of food handlers, and the progressive growth of consumer interest in personal hygiene tends to drive product diversification. This review covers the advances in the application of efficacy tests for hand sanitizers to suggest future perspectives to establish an assessment system that is optimized to each product type (gel, liquid, and wipes). Previous research on the in vivo simulative test of actual consumer use has adopted diverse experimental conditions regardless of the product type. This highlights the importance of establishing optimal test protocols specialized for the compositional characteristics of sanitizers through the comparative analysis of test methods. Although the operational conditions of the mechanical actions associated with wiping can affect the efficacy of the removal and/or the inactivation of target microorganisms from the skin's surface, currently there is a lack of standardized use patterns for the exposure of hand sanitizing wipes to skin. Thus, major determinants affecting the results from each step of the overall assessment procedures [pre-treatment - exposure of sanitizers - microbial recovery] should be identified to modify current protocols and develop novel test methods. The ex vivo test, designed to overcome the limited reproducibility of in vivo human trials, is also expected to replicate the environment for the contact of sanitizers targeting skin microorganisms. Recent progress in the area of skin microbiome research revealed distinct microbial characteristics and distribution patterns after the application of sanitizers on hands to establish the test methods with the perspectives on the antimicrobial effects at the community level. The future perspectives presented in this study on the improvement of efficacy test methods for hand sanitizers can also contribute to public health and food safety through the commercialization of effective sanitizer products.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.71-86
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• 2021

Purpose - This study examines the awareness regarding the symptoms of COVID-19 exposures and safety distances strategies whether they were useful to resile the businesses a mid of the pandemic. Besides exploring the awareness and safety distances, the effectiveness of offering free use of protective equipment (mask, hand sanitizer, frequent hand washing, etc.) to the customers for visiting the business centers was also examined. Design/methodology/approach - This study collected 264 survey data in Bangladesh which is one of the most densely populated country and very vulnerable for COVID-19 due to its socio-economic condition. The multiple regression analysis is used to analyze the data. Findings - The findings of the study indicate that the awareness about the symptoms of virus exposures (cough, fever, diarrhea, and weakness) has significant affirmative effects to enhance the public movement for business purposes with the lower possibility to be affected by the virus. The study also indicates that safety distances and protective equipment can mediate the significant positive relationship between the awareness of the disease and the businesses' resilient capacity. Research implications or Originality - COVID-19, as an apprehensive health issue in the current world, has sharpened the uncertainty of the businesses. One essential technique as lockdown, has been followed by almost every country to protect the transmission of the virus even though the scholars criticized it due to the substantial adverse effects on the country's economy. Under this circumstances, this study provides implications to the relevant businesses by assessing the nexus between the safety distances and the proper uses of protective equipment with the business resilient.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2012

This study was conducted to evaluate the microbiological hazard on nursery school children's hands and to investigate the reduction effect of hand washing education. A total of 59 nursery school children's hands were tested. The average number of total aerobic bacteria was $3.72{\pm}0.38log\;CFU/hand$. Five children's hands(2 male and 3 female) were positive(14.3%) for the coliform bacteria. These results showed that hand washing education are required repetitively. Among the pathogenic bacteria tested in this study, $Staphylococcus$ aureus and $Bacillus$ $cereus$ were detected in 9(25.7%) and 16(45.7%) out of 35 their hands, respectively. Twelve out of sixteen $B.$ $cereus$ isolates(70.0%) produced enterotoxin. The results indicate that the hand hygiene of nursery school children needs to be improved. Comparing before and after hand washing in educated and non-educated group, the reduction effect of total aerobic bacteria on their hands was 0.42 and 0.60 log CFU/hand, respectively. The educated group showed 0.18 log CFU/hand higher reduction effect than non-educated group but microorganism did not eliminate perfectly. From the results, using a hand sanitizer after washing with soap and the continuous hand washing education are required to control the contaminated bacteria on nursery school children's hands.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.227-240
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to assess the hygiene status of 145 child-care foodservices, which were newly registered in the Center for the Children's Foodservice Management (CCFSM) in Changwon, Gyeongnam. Sanitary inspection checklist (40 food safety items) of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) was used by the CCFSM in Changwon, Gyeongnam. Average score from the total safety items in 145 child-care foodservices was 21.41 points out of 40 points. Score gaps between the lower group (71 foodservices, 13.92 points) and higher group (74 foodservices, 28.61 points) showed a significant difference (P<0.001). The top five priorities of sanitary measures needing corrective actions for child-care foodservices were as follows: 'provide hand washing and sanitizing tools, and supply manuals on how to wash hands properly', 'supply record form for access/inspection', 'conduct education for cooks on standards in the selection of sanitizer for raw vegetables and proper methods to wash and sanitize raw vegetables', 'provide a refrigerator and a freezer with installed thermometers and temperature record monitoring logs', 'encourage separation of contamination operating zone and clean zone or conduct training for cooks on ways to prevent cross-contamination by performing work separately by the hour'. For the higher group, most were national/public facilities (83.3%), whereas in the lower group, private facilities (62.1%) were more common than national/public ones (37.9%). Therefore, a significant difference (P<0.001) was detected in the two groups. These private facilities should be supported.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.35-43
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• 2024

Numerous methods have been applied to assess the antibacterial effectiveness of hand hygiene products. However, the different results obtained through various evaluation methods have complicated our understanding of the real efficacy of the products. Few studies have compared test methods for assessing the efficacy of hand hygiene products. In particular, reports on ex vivo pig skin testing are limited. This study aimed to compare and characterize the methodologies applied for evaluating hand hygiene products, involving in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo approaches, applicable to both leave-on sanitizers and wash-off products. Our further aim was to enhance the reliability of ex vivo test protocols by identifying influential factors. We performed an in vitro method (EN1276) and an in vivo test (EN1499 and ASTM2755) with at least 20 participants, against Serratia marcescens or Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. For the ex vivo experiment, we used pig skin squares prepared in the same way as those used in the in vivo test method and determined the optimal treated sample volumes for sanitizers and the amount of water required to wash off the product. The hand sanitizers showed at least a 5-log reduction in bacterial load in the in vitro test, while they showed little antibacterial activity in the in vivo and ex vivo tests, particularly those with a low alcohol content. For the hand wash products, the in vitro test was limited because of bubble formation or the high viscosity of the products and it showed low antibacterial activity of less than a 1-log reduction against E. coli. In contrast, significantly higher log reductions were observed in ex vivo and in vivo tests, consistently demonstrating these results across the two methods. Our findings revealed that the ex vivo and in vivo tests reflect the two different antibacterial mechanisms of leave-on and wash-off products. Our proposed optimized ex vivo test was more rapid and more precise than the in vitro test to evaluate antibacterial results.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.206-220
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between practice and infectious diseases in elementary, middle and high school students. Methods: In 16 metropolitan cities and province of the Korea, the students who from fourth grade of elementary school to third grade of high school were surveyed by personal interviews and an web-based online survey from 5 to 25 September, 2014. We analyzed data with chi-square test and logistic regression analysis. Results: Common cold, diarrhea, and eye infections were more prevalent among students in higher grade than lower grade. In particular, common cold was more prevalent among girls than boys, using hand sanitizer than washing with soaps, and students who wash the dorsal side of hand than not wash the dorsal side of hand. Conclusions: Higher-grade students showed low status of hand washing practice. Hand washing was determined as the fact which influences to increase the prevention of communicable disease such as common cold. Considering the fact that youth groups have higher risk of being infected due to their group life, schools are recommended to provide adequate educations regarding proper hand washing practice with soap.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.14-26
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• 2022

Objectives: Handwashing is one of the most effective methods to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. This study assessed the related factors and reasons for not practicing handwashing at school among adolescents. Methods: We analyzed data collected from 57,303 adolescents who participated in the 15th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2019. Results: The proportions of not washing hands "before meals at school" and "after using the toilet at school" were 15.9% and 4.4%, respectively. The adjusted odds ratio for not washing hands before meals at school was significantly higher in girls (Odds Ratio [OR]=1.52, 95% Confidence Intervals [CI]=1.42-1.63), metropolitan city (OR=1.32, 95% CI=1.11-1.56), city (OR=1.29, 95% CI=1.08-1.54), higher grade, higher academic performance, lower economic status, not handwashing at home (OR=14.36, 95% CI=13.37-15.42), and without annual personal hygiene education (OR=1.41, 95% CI=1.33-1.49). Reasons for not washing hands at school among adolescents who do not wash their hands before meals at school included 'it is bothersome (52.3%)', 'there is no soap or hand sanitizer (13.8%)', and 'I do not feel the need (9.5%)'. Conclusions: Improving handwashing before meals at school among adolescents requires raising awareness of the importance of handwashing before meals and establishing a suitable environment and handwashing-encouraging culture.