"Frequently washing your hands with soap and water is the best way to remove all kinds of micro-organisms, including those that cause foodborne illness, and the viruses that cause colds and the flu," says Ann Lawrence, a public health nurse, who shares these tips:

Wash hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds – as long as it takes to sing the alphabet or "Happy Birthday" songs. Rub both sides of your hands, between fingers, around cuticles and under fingernails.

Hands should be washed:
• Before and after handling food
• After handling uncooked eggs or raw meat, poultry, or fish and their juices
• Before eating
• After using the toilet
• After changing a diaper
• After petting animals
• After tending a sick person
• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing

For more information, see "Anti-Bacterial Soap" in Alphabet Soup Goes Green.