Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of newly-developed hand washing pictograms on employees’ hand washing behavior using video observation.
Methods: Five employee hand washing behaviors (soap use, wash completeness, wash time, complete rinsing, and towel use) were evaluated with (a) no intervention, company signs posted and considered the baseline; and compared to (b) hand washing behavior after experimental hand washing signs were displayed (short term and long term) at a raw poultry slaughter facility (Facility A) and a poultry processing facility (Facility B).
Results: A total of 894 hand washing observations were counted from a total of 53.5 hours of video recorded. Both facilities showed a significant increase (P<0.05) in soap use after the new sign was introduced at both short and long term time periods. There was a significant increase (P<0.05) in washing, time, and rinsing observed by Facility B employees, when baseline data was compared to the short term. This indicates that a new sign could increase hand washing compliance. Sign color also had a significant effect (P<0.05) on employee behavior for washing and time of washing, while behavior for four of the five variables was significantly different on days of observation.
Significance: While signs can be a useful tool to offer as recurring food safety training for food processing employees, employees tend to revert back to old habits after a short period of time.