Why Chefs are Less Likely Infected by COVID-19

I was reading an article published by the US Department of Labour regarding the breakdown of diagnosis by occupation. And I've noticed that my industry is not on the chart. Then I realized that there are people feeling uncomfortable about wearing masks all day, or have made mistakes when wearing a glove. As mentioned in my previous blog, hygiene and sanitation play a vital role in the foundation of my culinary practices. Here are some further explanations of why professional chefs are less likely to be infected by the virus.

Source: US Dept of Labor 

1. On average, we wash our hands 2 times an hour

When handwashing was introduced to the public as "the key to prevent infection", many people find it hard to be convinced. They were expecting to take medicine pills or get some injection to win the battle. They didn't believe that washing hands is the 'cure' that they were expecting. Speaking from experience, I was having a tough time to accept the fact that hand washing is a MUST practice for hygiene and sanitation purpose. I didn't recognize the importance of that simple practice even until I graduated from my university as the top graduate. However, after engaging in a professional career and having clarification from experts in the industry, it is vitally crucial that we do this, and do it right. In my current practice, handwashing is already nailed to the brain. Whenever we touch items or surfaces that are considered "non-edible", such as raw meats, dust on packing materials, or even the handle of a door, any chef will head to the nearest hand sink and sanitize our hands before we deal with any 'edible' ingredients.

Watch my video on my Instagram about how to wash your hands in a sanitized manner:

2. On average, we change our disposable gloves 15-20 pairs per shift 

I was in a queue for grocery run today. Malls are mandating temperature screening plus hand sanitizing before entering the grocery store. I saw the person queuing in front of me got his glove-on hand sprayed with sanitizer. This is a malpractice and an indication of the user who does not change the gloves as necessary. Food-grade gloves are as good as medical gloves. They are considered sanitized and clean from micro-organisms. Gloves are usually used when we deal with 'ready-to-eat' products, such as slicing a beef steak or dressing a salad. Although previously mentioned that chefs keep their hand sanitized, we wear a glove when doing these because the diners will gain the perception that their food handler is being professional. On the other side, the main reason for this practice is to keep our hands from getting physically contaminated and bacterial-free. When we slicing meat, be it raw or cooked, micro-organism resides at our hand and water rinsing has very little effect in getting rid of micro-organisms that are not visible. If the bacteria-stained hand now touches other products such as salads or dairy products, cross-contamination happens. Some micro-organisms that borne naturally in one ingredient may be foreign to another, therefore, gloves are essential in preventing cross-contamination. A proper method of using a medically-cleaned glove is to avoid contamination of the glove itself with the necessary change of gloves when handling different materials. The proper practice is only to wear gloves when you are dealing with an absolute clean material. This is consistent in healthcare establishments, doctors wear gloves just the moment before attending patients or performing surgeries, you don't find doctors wear gloves replying email or during lunch break. In a commercial manner, users should prevent using the same pair of gloves to touch any edible items (food and ingredients) or non-edible items and any other surfaces (such as pushing a trolley, withdrawing cash from your wallet, or replying Whatsapp phone) on the interval. If the user picked up the virus from one of the unsanitized surfaces through wearing gloves, i.e. elevator buttons, then the user carries grocery bags with the contaminated gloves, and the grocery bags are brought back home and exposed to family members. The prevention scenario is touching contaminated surfaces without notice (i.e. elevator buttons), sanitize hand with a sanitizer, carry the grocery bag, sanitize the bag before bringing it back home. Wearing gloves often led to false perception the user thinks they are vulnerable to contamination. Therefore, this is the reason that many health associations do not recommend the public to wear gloves as prevention measures. 

Avoid touching surfaces when wearing gloves!


Image source: SmarterTravel

3. We are trained to avoid unnecessary touches

Have you noticed any chefs touching their faces, wiping sweat, or sneezing to the open space? Hygiene and sanitation training also teaches the culinary practitioner how to act correctly under these scenarios. Chef jackets are often kept clean for hygiene and perception purposes, that's why chef jackets are usually white. White jackets give the earliest contamination indication, as food residue migrated to the chef whites involuntarily, it hints the person to change to fresh cloth before further cooking. Chefs pick up skills to avoid unnecessary touch and the trouble of changing jackets during work. We are also trained to cough or sneeze to our shoulder sleeve during the absence of a better solution (such as tissue paper). Avoid touching faces may be tough to the public, even to the healthcare personnel or world leaders, but this is one of the essential practices we have been doing on a daily basis.

Image source: LiteRock

On and all, I hope the readers can be inspired by this article. Perhaps one day a chef may be called for consultation in the WHO agendas. Help to prevent the infection by cooking safely!

ZF


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