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Published on 06/08/01

Scientists Cleaning Under Fingernails


Photo: Joe Courson

It's important for everyone to clean carefully under their fingernails. For food service providers, it's especially critical.
Scientists are renting Sunny Griffin's fingernails. University of Georgia food scientists are studying ways to clean under them in research that could prompt new state regulations.

"I just find it interesting," Griffin said as a technician measured the length of her fingernails.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, the 19-year-old packs her artificial fingernails with bacteria, such as E. coli placed on ground beef.

"It's kind of gross," Griffin said.

Gross Chain of Events

The scientists undertook the study because of a gross chain of events. A sick bakery worker with artificial fingernails went to the bathroom at work, but didn't adequately wash her hands before icing a cake. Later, about 200 people, mostly children, got sick from eating the cake and its contaminated icing.


Photo: Joe Courson

Ooh, gross! Research subjects press their nails into such things as ground beef contaminated with E. coli to find cleaning methods that best kill food-borne pathogens.
"That could have been prevented," said Chia-Min Lin, a research coordinator at the UGA Center for Food Safety and Quality Enhancement in Griffin, Ga.

Georgia public health officials asked the UGA researchers to find the most effective way to clean fingernails, particularly artificial nails.

"Theoretically, they harbor a lot of microorganisms, and they are very hard to clean out," Lin said.

Sunny and 11 other people will help scientists find if water alone, regular hand soap, antibacterial soap, alcohol gel or nail brushing will kill the most germs. The participants get $20 each time they participate in the experiment.

Early Results

Early results show that brushing with regular soap cleans the artificial nails best. For short nails, antibacterial soap appears to kill the most germs.


Photo: Joe Courson

University of Georgia research coordinator Chia-min Lin instructs participants while studying ways to clean under fingernails.
After an hour of intense soaking, brushing and washing, Sunny Griffin gets to call it quits, until later in the week when she lets science borrow her fingernails again.

The research team is now focusing its work on killing viruses that could grow under the nails.

Then, all the research findings will go to state health officials. Depending on their analysis, Georgia could have new regulations that deal specifically with cleaning artificial fingernails.

Experts/Sources:
Chia-Min Lin
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