The Quality of Polymia Hand Sanitizer Towards Effectivity of Food Handlers

Abstract

The personal hygiene of a food handler is very important in food safety, especially in terms of hand hygiene, because it is one way in which food contamination may occur. Hand sanitizer is one product used to prevent microbial contamination through imroper handling of food which causes several diseases. The leaves of Indonesian bay leaf (Syzigium polyanthum) and Muntingia (Muntingia calabura) can be used as active microbial ingredients in hand sanitizers. This study used both qualitative and quantitative descriptive method as well as experimental method. The qualitative and quantitative descriptive method comprised of identification and measurement, while the experimental method comprised of the effectivity and patch test of Polymia hand sanitizer. This study was conducted by preparing the materials, followed by extraction, gel preparation, hand sanitizer production, effectivity and patch test, inhibition test, and pH measurement. The aim of this study was to observe the effect of Polymia hand sanitizer, in terms of hygiene and sanitation, towards food handlers. As conclusions, the level of awareness among food handlers in terms of washing hand before handling foods and after using the toilet was still low. In the effectivity test, Polymia-based hand sanitizer in group P3 had the highest favorability rate (mean=7.9). According to the patch test result, the hand sanitizer base with highest skin irritation rate was P3 (mean=0.1).