THE SAVE FOOD HANDLER
Only foodservice workers who are healthy and practice good personal hygiene should be
allowed to work in your restaurant. Workers can contaminate food by: working while they are
sick; touching pimples or sores; touching their hair; not wearing a band-aid and single-use gloves
over sores and wounds; and not washing their hands properly before, during, and after handling
food.
One of the best ways that a foodservice manager can keep food safe is to implement food
safety policies that promote good personal hygiene. The policies should address :
- personal cleanliness – workers properly bathed .
- proper work attire –workers wearing clean hat or hair restrain , clean clothing ,appopriate shoes and jewelery .
- good hygine practice -workers frequently and properly washing their hands, having short, finggernails, and properly using gloves.
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| hand washing basic |
Hands are probably the most common way that harmful microorganisms get into foods in
a restaurant. Hands can become soiled with a variety of contaminants while a worker is
performing routine tasks.
All restaurants must have an accessible handwashing sink that is well stocked with hand
soap and a way to dry hands. The soap can be either liquid or bar soap; it does not have to be
antibacterial. Instant hand sanitizer can be available but it is not required.
It is important that handwashing be done only at a properly maintained handwashing
sink. Warm water is more effective than cold water in removing dirt and microorganisms from
hands. An adequate flow of warm water will cause soap to lather and help remove soil quickly
from the hands. The water should be at least 100
o
F (40°C).
Some workers will not wash their hands unless properly equipped handwashing sinks are
accessible to their work area. Sinks that are improperly located, blocked by portable equipment,
or stacked full of soiled utensils and other items, are difficult to use. Nothing must block the
approach to a handwashing sink.
Hands must never be washed in a food preparation sink because this may contaminate the
sink and the food prepared in it. Service sinks also cannot be used for handwashing because this
practice may introduce additional hand contaminants, such as mop water, toxic chemicals, and a
variety of other liquid wastes.
proper hand washing
Workers must wash their hands after any task that might contaminate their hands. Always
wash hands:
• after using the bathroom
• after coughing, sneezing, smoking, eating, or drinking
• after bussing a table
• before putting on gloves
• after handling animals
• when switching between raw and ready-to-eat food
• after handling garbage or trash
• after handling dirty equipment or utensils;
• during food preparation.
Instant hand sanitizers should only be used on properly washed hands. Therefore, food
workers must always wash their hands before the hand sanitizer is applied. Hand sanitizers can
never replace handwashing. Furthermore, only hand sanitizers approved by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) can be used in a restaurant.
fingernails
Fingernails (real or artificial) and nail polish can become a physical hazard. Therefore,
workers must keep their nails trimmed and filed. Long nails can easily break and end up in food.
Also if nails are long, dirt and microorganisms can collect beneath them. If workers want to
wear fingernail polish or artificial fingernails, they must wear single-use gloves.
cover cuts, wounds, and sores
Lesions containing pus that might be on a worker's hands or forearms, can introduce
bacteria into food. If a worker has an infected cut and bandages it, plus puts on a glove, they do
not have to report the infected cut to the manager. However, if the worker does not bandage it,
they must let their manager know about the infected cut.
single-use glove
Hands must be properly washed before a worker puts on single-use gloves. Gloves must
be thrown out when they become dirty. Provide workers with non-latex gloves because latex
gloves might cause allergic reactions in some workers. Always change gloves when they tear;
before beginning a new task; every four hours when doing the same task; and after handling raw
meat, fish, or poultry.
hair restraint
Consumers are particularly sensitive to food contaminated by hair. Food workers might
contaminate their hands when they touch their hair. A hair restraint keeps hair from ending up in
the food and it also may deter employees from touching their hair.
clothing
Dirty clothing could also be a source of microorganisms. Food workers who
inadvertently touch their dirty clothing may contaminate their hands. This could result in
contamination of the food being prepared. Food may also be contaminated through direct contact
with dirty clothing. In addition, workers wearing dirty clothes send a negative message to
customers about the level of sanitation in the restaurant.
jewelry
Jewelry, such as rings, bracelets, and watches, might get dirty. As a result, the jewelry
may be a source of harmful microorganisms. Medical information bracelets also cannot be worn.
They can only be worn if they are high on the arm or secured in a manner that does not pose a
risk to the food but still provides emergency medical information if it is needed.
An additional hazard associated with jewelry is the possibility that pieces of the item or
the whole item itself may fall into the food being prepared. Hard foreign objects in food may
cause medical problems for consumers, such as chipped and/or broken teeth, internal cuts, or lession .
bare-hand contact
Minimize bare-hand contact of ready-to-eat food. Ready-to-eat food (RTE) includes
cooked food, raw fruits and vegetables, baked goods, dried sausages, canned food, snack foods,
and beverages. It is best to handle these foods with hands that are properly covered with singleuse gloves, cleaned and sanitized utensils, and/or deli papers.
Management’s Role in Implementing Good Personal Hygiene Policies
• Incorporate good personal hygiene policies into your food safety plan.
• Train food handlers on personal hygiene policies.
• Model good hygiene practices for workers at all times.
• Supervise workers’ practices continuously.
• Revise polices when laws and regulations change.
Other Policies
Smoking or eating by workers in food preparation areas is prohibited because hands,
food, and food-contact surfaces might become contaminated. Poor hygiene practices, such as
scratching the head, placing the fingers in or about the mouth or nose, and indiscriminate and
uncovered sneezing or coughing could cause food contamination.
Food preparation areas such as hot grills are often very warm. The excessive heat in
these areas may present a medical risk to the workers as a result of dehydration. Therefore, in
these areas food workers can drink beverages from a covered container with a straw.
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