Wellness Mind & Body Clean Hands, Cleaner Food: How to Wash Bacteria Off Your Hands By Lambeth Hochwald Lambeth Hochwald Instagram Twitter Website Lambeth Hochwald is a believer that everyone has a story to tell. As a New York City-based journalist, she has been busily covering COVID-19 and its effects on everyone from college students and their parents to restaurant workers and ER doctors. Over the last few decades, she's written for the New York Post, CNN, Parade, WebMD, Millie, Reside, the Food Network, Delish, and Architectural Digest, always with the same mandate to be compassionate, hence the hashtag #compassionatejournalism that she includes in her email auto-signature. When she's not juggling assignments, she's helping to teach the next generation of journalists in her role as an adjunct professor of journalism at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. health's editorial guidelines and Michael Gollust Published on November 6, 2012 Share Tweet Pin Email IstockphotoFrom Health magazineBefore any food prep, thoroughly wash your hands to reduce your odds of food poisoning. Wash extra well after touching any raw meat or veggies. How much washing is enough? Chef Bobby Deen, co-author of YAll Come Eat, says he takes it to the extreme: “Im like the anal-retentive chef from Saturday Night Live. I wash my hands a million times a day.” The best technique? “A 20-second scrub using regular soap and hot water is sufficient,” says Paul Lyons, MD, professor of family and community medicine at the Temple University School of Medicine. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit