Yesterday I was involved in a number of Radio interviews about Dettol’s Mission for health with Dr Dawn Harper (Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies). The Mission for Health is a set of initiatives promoting healthy environments through Dettol’s new mums programme, running healthy habits lessons in schools and also working with Save the Children to help children in need in the UK and abroad. As a mum of three children, I have always been interested in making sure that they are protected from getting food poisoning and to teach them about the importance of handwashing. I have also been roped in at their schools to go and teach the children about hygiene in the home, using my famous “magic dust” which only shows up under ultra violet light. In the classroom, we show how bacteria can spread from hand to hand, and via cloths onto surfaces, and talk about how to wash hands properly. It’s such simple public health measure that can make all the difference.
It’s amazing that whilst 72% of a group surveyed said they would spring clean their house, many did not actually do any cleaning on a daily basis! The importance of cleaning in the kitchen is that it is done on a when needed basis, for example, after preparing raw meat and poultry, rather than saving up all the cleaning up to do once a year! E.coli and Campylobacter can survive for long periods of time on kitchen surfaces, so it’s important to clean as you go to make sure that you don’t spread these bacteria from a dirty surface or hands onto ready-to-eat foods.
Here’s a clip of me on my Mission for Health : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ7pISjR1hk
