(If you have an injury on your hand)
Good morning everyone!
Today I’d like to talk about what to do if you have an injury on your hand.
This was a question I asked a few years ago when I first started taking my koji-mastor Nakaji’s koji school.
“If I cut my finger, is it okay to put that hand into koji or koji products?
If I just say ‘cut the finger’, there are some level of it,
don’t you think?
Is it still bleeding?
If it already stopped bleeding,
but the scar is too deep and slightly clear liquid remind?
Or maybe a scab has formed?
Nakaji-san’s answer was
As long as it’s not bleeding, you’re fine.
That’s it.
He said that as long as you wash your hands properly without putting a band-aid on, you can continue working – but make sure it’s not bleeding!
This was a bit of an eye-opener for me.
And this was the reality that happeed at the Old Sake brewery in Japan for long time.
It was safe as it is.
Of course, washing your hands properly is the most important thing.
However, in my opinion, if I can see a little bit of clear liquid, I don’t want to work on it.
But if it’s a scab, it’s probably fine.
I’ll wash my hands really well.
I think it’s a good tip to keep in mind for your fermentation life.
Still keep in mind that…. This totally doesn’t make sense for people who handle food with a very strict hygiene control, like restaurant and food industry.In that case, you should use rubber gloves, and follow the rules according to the law.
If you work at the manufacture that deals with koji products for business, you probably don’t want people who have an injury on their finger. I’m sure there are other people who can do it for people who has injured their hand.
But here, I’m talking about a living person – not a manufacture – who handles live bacteria at home.
Food safety is the number one priority for sure, but we should have a proper knowledge of how living people deal with living bacterias in this living world. We are alive as there are lots of bacterias surrounding on our hand, different from machine hand.
Proper fermentation process will bring safer food preparation.
Studying fermentation is the whole of living study.
Let’s keep studying:)
May, 2021