How Dirty Is Your Cell Phone?
How Much Bacteria is on Your Phone?
Cell phones have become a near-constant accessory in recent years. People take their phones everywhere — to dinner, to bed, and even to the bathroom. In fact, Americans check their phones around every 12 minutes. Since people bring their cell phones with them everywhere and touch them often, these devices can turn into breeding grounds for bacteria. A recent study found that there is an average of 17,000 bacterial gene copies on a single cell phone.
Americans check their
phones every 12 minutes.
Many people believe that the bathroom is the dirtiest thing they regularly come into contact with; however, a cell phone can house up to 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. While many of the bacteria found on cell phones are harmless, there is a chance that your device could be harboring much more dangerous pathogens. This is especially concerning for those employed in foodservice or healthcare, as pathogens can lead to an illness outbreak.
What Your Hands Touch, Your Phone Collects
Often, people bring their phones to many bacteria-prone places, including the bathroom and the kitchen. They are also utilizing these devices everywhere, increasing the risk of transferring germs from one area to another, also known as cross-contamination. In foodservice, this presents a public safety risk.
Though microbes are everywhere, not all are negative or dangerous. Normally, bacteria are transferred onto cell phones from cheeks and ears as well as naturally-occurring oils in fingers. While many types of bacteria are nothing to worry about, there are some harmful pathogens that may be passed onto the surface of a cell phone from coughing on the phone or from touching a phone with contaminated hands.
- Streptococcus;
- MRSA;
- coli;
- Coliforms;
- Coagulase Negative Staphylococci (CoNS);
- Mold;
- And yeast including various subspecies/genera of Candida.
Although the infectious dose of pathogens varies, it is still important that they don’t enter your system. Also, once a person is infected, pathogens can spread from one person to another by sharing a phone. For instance, if a person was sick and coughed onto their phone while speaking on it, then handed it to someone else to use, the second person could be exposed.
Warm Environments Are Perfect Breeding Grounds
However, there are other places where bacteria can grow, such as bathrooms or pant pockets. This is why it is important for everyone, especially restaurant employees, to wash their hands regularly and to avoid bringing their phones with them to the bathroom.
Our Phones Can Make Us Sick
This is extremely important to note, especially for those working in the foodservice industry, because they are responsible for the health of their patrons as well as the cleanliness of their restaurant. It is common for kitchen teams to use their phones for daily tasks, such as setting timers, listening to music, or researching recipes — but this also means that their phones could be leading to cross-contamination of hands, which in turn contaminate food.
What to Do About it
Every restaurant should have a clear mobile phone policy in the kitchen. If phone use is tolerated, cell phones should be included in and subjected to the same daily cleaning and sanitation standards as other kitchen equipment. The proper use of cleaners and disinfectants is of the utmost importance. This can help lessen the spread of different bacteria in both commercial and home environments. Be sure to follow manufacturers’ guidelines when cleaning electronic devices.
It’s also important to note that there are different levels of cleaning:
- Cleaning, which removes visible soil and debris from surfaces;
- Sanitizing, which reduces the presence of any bacteria, viruses, and fungi from surfaces;
- And disinfecting, which eliminates pathogens and disease-causing microorganisms.
Generally surface sanitizing is reserved for food contact surfaces while disinfecting applies to non-food contact surfaces, such as handrails, doorknobs, and other high-touch surfaces.
Hand Hygiene and Sanitation
Washing your hands is essential for proper hygiene and sanitation. Keeping your hands clean is especially important during the cold and flu season, a time when germs spread rapidly and easily. The FDA recommends washing hands during key times like:
- Before, during, and after food preparation;
- Before eating;
- Before and after caring for a sick person;
- Before and after treating a cut;
- After using the restroom;
- After changing diapers or cleaning up a child;
- After blowing noses, coughing, or sneezing;
- After touching an animal;
- After touching garbage.
If there is no soap, the CDC also recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. While there is a difference between washing hands and sanitizing them, both can kill pathogens and bacteria.
Restricted Use of Cell Phones
In Certain Areas
Since a cell phone can harbor many germs, pathogens, and bacteria on its surface, it is important to restrict the use of cell phones in certain areas. These places include:
- Kitchens, both commercial and residential;
- Bathrooms;
- Dining tables;
- Doctor’s offices;
- And any other places where bacterial exposure could be detrimental to a person’s health.
Restricted use of cell phones in certain areas.