Are Women’s Handbags Dirtier Than Toilets?

Women's handbags have more microbes than those that exist in most toilets surface of the toilets. Women put the bag all over the place. They take the bag with them all the time and are passing germs from hand to bag. And no bleach goes in the bag.

The study carried out by Maulori Cabral, Professor at the Institute of Microbiology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) reveals that hand cream, lipstick and make-up kits are the dirtiest items that women carry in their handbags. The study compared findings with research carried out by the UK market research company Initial Washroom Hygiene which specializes in cleaning public toilets.

Maulori Cabral agrees with the research. "That's what she (the woman) touches more often, but from the outside". He explained that the lipsticks, themselves, already have antimicrobial agents. The same is true regarding hand cream. Vials containing cream are all the time being held by female hands.

Maulori Cabral clarified that when a person holds an object, he/she transfers part of his/her microbiota to it. "Every living creature you meet has a population of microbes associated with the body itself. Each person has their bacterial populations. This set of bacterial populations that is associated with a body called microbiota," he said.

Cabral ruled out, however, that the fact that handbag presents more microbes than the surface of toilets endangers human health. "No way. This is all about creating panic. The microbiota is part of the evolution of living beings. Each person carries about 100 trillion bacteria. The adult body consists of 10 trillion cells that are descendants of fertilization, i.e. our embryonic origin". When the creature is born, it becomes contaminated with bacteria, including from the mother herself, and when it becomes an adult, the person carries ten times more bacteria than embryonic cells. "When you touch something, you pass your microbes onto it".

In the virologist´s assessment, washing your hands so often does not reduce the number of bacteria present in women's handbags. What you need is always to wash the hands before meals and after going to the bathroom. "When you wash your hands, you do not get rid of your germs, you get rid of the germs of others. Because yours are part of your microbiota. The microbes belonging to others are the ones that can harm you, or not".

Cabral reiterated that human beings are born to live with microbes. "Dressing microbes up as something evil is the greatest absurdity". He said that children take lactobacillus alive because it is good for their health and said that microbial contamination is a natural thing. Although microbes are invisible, they are the most powerful beings on the planet," stated the UFRJ Professor.

 "Microbes are part of everyday life," Cabral explained that as the human being is a social animal, men greet each other, exchanging microbes in the handshake. "The first thing you do is: here, have some of my microbes and give me some of yours". When there is more intimacy with another person, kisses are exchanged. "Then the thing complicates" because, according to Cabral, each droplet of saliva has 100,000 bacteria. "But is there anything better than swapping bacteria?" joked the professor. This means that the more intimate the greeting, the more microbiota are shared.

Improving Food Safety by Monitoring Suppliers and Traceability

Food safety concerns have been on the rise since the horsemeat scandal earlier this year showed how little control many food companies really have over their supply chain. Public confidence has been shaken as a result of these fraudulent actions. The horsemeat scandal has demonstrated the importance of proper controls.

When something goes wrong and food or feed product is recalled, the loss of product is really the least of concerns, as damage to the brand and subsequent lawsuits quickly outpace the cost of the recall itself.

In the past, food companies have relied on third-party external audits to make sure their suppliers and food processors were delivering a high quality product, but the third-party audits are often announced well ahead of time and were paid for by the suppliers and manufacturers. Supplier auditing has become more common.

The hazards include microbiological, chemical, including allergens and physical, issues that can cause food to be unsafe, shall be controlled and monitored by a strong food safety management system. If unchecked, they could lead to serious brand or/and financial damage for the business.

Food safety management system is term that encompasses many aspects of handling, preparation and storage of food to prevent illness and injury. A priority of food quality is control of:

• Chemical properties of which allergens can be life threatening to some people, or vitamin and mineral content which affect the overall quality of the food.
• Physical particles which are crucial but are not as significant in terms of food safety. As glass and metal can be hazardous and cause serious injury to consumers. 
• Microbiological hazards such bacteria, viruses and toxins are possible contaminants of food and impact food safety.

Food manufacturers and distributors are increasingly concerned about building effective food safety management system, decreasing the possibility of occurring food safety events and then control corporate managing risk.

User friendly tools which will help maintaining supplier approval process and verifying internal policies, procedures and systems have been developed by a team of food safety experts.

The Food Safety Audit, Supplier Risk Assessment, BRC Issue 6 Audit and Traceability Audit aim at reducing and preventing issues along the supply chain, from the suppliers to the customer.

Supplier Risk Assessment is the process of evaluating risks to safety, legality and quality of the products. To get a full picture of suppliers individualized risk assessments shall be made on the performance of each supplier.

Food Safety Audits are a crucial aspects of maintaining food safety standards, by providing transparency and assurance that standards are being maintained.

Traceability is a way of responding to potential risks that can arise in food and feed, to ensure that all food products are safe.

Traceability is a risk management tool, allowing food businesses to withdraw or recall products that have been identified as unsafe.

BRC Issue 6 Audits are a systematic, independent and documented activity in which objective evidence is gathered and assessed to determine if a food safety system is appropriate and effective. BRC Issue 6 Audits also provide evidence that food is manufactured in a safe environment and help determine if hazards are properly identified and controlled or eliminated.

See more at http://www.haccpeuropa.com