--- title: You're Probably Not Washing Your Hands Right, Study Says description: A new USDA study found that people failed to wash their hands properly while cooking 97% of the time, increasing the risk of contamination. canonical: https://time.com/5327334/usda-hand-washing-study/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-30T14:01:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:44:17.431Z article:section: Health og:title: You're Probably Not Washing Your Hands Right, Study Says og:description: Here's what you're likely doing wrong og:url: https://time.com/5327334/usda-hand-washing-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ffb13301e6e7313/69893456ab6d7745656b3132/hand-washing.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5256 og:image:height: 2957 og:image:alt: Washing hands og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: You're Probably Not Washing Your Hands Right, Study Says twitter:description: Here's what you're likely doing wrong twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ffb13301e6e7313/69893456ab6d7745656b3132/hand-washing.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # You're Probably Not Washing Your Hands Right, Study Says > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Jun 30, 2018 2:01 PM UTC  PhotoAlto/Odilon Dimier—Getty Images/PhotoAlto  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Jun 30, 2018 2:01 PM UTC People fail to properly wash their hands while cooking 97% of the time, potentially opening them up to food-borne illnesses such as salmonella, [norovirus](http://time.com/4864685/norovirus-outbreak-what-to-know/) and [E. coli](http://time.com/5326050/romaine-lettuce-e-coli-irrigation-canal/), [according to a study](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/1fe5960e-c1d5-4bea-bccc-20b07fbfde50/Observational-Study-Addendum.pdf?MOD=AJPERES) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). FSIS, in partnership with researchers from RTI International and North Carolina State University, sorted 383 people into one of two groups. About half the sample watched a three-minute video about safe food preparation and using food thermometers, while the other did not get any guidance. All of the individuals were then sent into test kitchens outfitted with cameras and told to prepare turkey burgers and salads. The researchers observed that people who had watched the video were significantly more likely than the control group to use a meat thermometer properly while making their turkey burgers. But across both groups, the researchers found that almost nobody — just 2% of the video group, and less than 1% of the control group — followed all [recommended hand-washing practices](http://time.com/4814552/theres-no-advantage-washing-your-hands-with-hot-water/). (The video did not specifically describe good hand-washing techniques.) The most common issue, they found, was failing to rub hands with soap for the recommended 20 seconds, followed by not wetting hands with water. The researchers also observed that individuals only washed their hands after a possible cause of cross-contamination — such as handling raw meat — in about a third of instances. After the experiment, researchers tested food samples and test kitchen surfaces for bacteria. They found that almost half of participants contaminated spice containers, about 10% contaminated faucets or refrigerator handles and about 5% contaminated their cell phones or lettuce used in their salads. “You can’t see, smell or feel bacteria,” Acting USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Carmen Rottenberg [said in a statement](https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2018/06/28/study-shows-most-people-are-spreading-dangerous-bacteria-around). “By simply washing your hands properly, you can protect your family and prevent that bacteria from contaminating your food and key areas in your kitchen.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5327334/usda-hand-washing-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5327334/usda-hand-washing-study/"},"headline":"You're Probably Not Washing Your Hands Right, Study Says","datePublished":"2018-06-30T14:01:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:44:17.431Z","description":"Here's what you're likely doing wrong","url":"https://time.com/5327334/usda-hand-washing-study/","keywords":["Research","onetime","healthytime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ffb13301e6e7313/69893456ab6d7745656b3132/hand-washing.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ffb13301e6e7313/69893456ab6d7745656b3132/hand-washing.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Washing hands","caption":"Washing hands","creditText":"PhotoAlto/Odilon Dimier—Getty Images/PhotoAlto","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5327334/usda-hand-washing-study/","name":"You're Probably Not Washing Your Hands Right, Study Says"}}]}] ```