Lets Get Dirty

There is no right way of saying this, so I’ll say it the wrong way: in order to stay healthy we must stay dirty. Now, that didn’t sound right, did it? Put it this way: if we all lived in sealed apartments where only the purest air was pumped in and every trace of bacteria were eliminated from our food we probably wouldn’t last long when we stepped outside.

We all need a few germs and a bit of dirt to give us the resistance we need to fight off more serious germs when they come along. This is an irony of life, isn’t it? We need some of the "bad" in order to have the "good".

And so it is with germs. Washing regularly is surely a good thing, but washing 5 times a day may be going too far. However, washing your hands 5 times a day (or more) is very important when preparing food, especially when preparing it for others. Although it is surely ok to have a few germs lying around in order to keep up our immunity it is not acceptable to knowingly pass germs on to others, especially if you work in a food factory of public kitchen. In these places it is not just desirable to keep out germs, it is a duty.

When an environmental health inspector visits these places they will expect to see hand-washing facilities and proper measures to control pests – especially flies. Now, if you knew what flies got up to and some of the vile places they visit you surely would not be happy if one was found in the factory that produces your favourite pizza.

Most food production facilities and public kitchens will have a fly killer machine. There are two types: those that are cheap and nasty and are put there in a futile attempt to comply with health regulations and the solidly built machines that are designed to eliminate flies safely and effectively. Insect-o-Cutor is the most respected name in the industry and health inspectors are aware of this. Arkay Hygiene exclusively sells Insect-o-Cutor fly killers (or "Insectocutors") at their web site at eeeee.co.uk.

So, perhaps it’s just a case of getting the balance right – a few germs are OK, but food factories and public kitchens without Insectocutors – no way!

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