Guidelines for Personal Cleanliness and Hygiene in Food Handling Areas

Reporting Illness and Maintaining Cleanliness

Responsibilities for food handlers regarding illness and personal hygiene:

• Report immediately to the manager if you have an illness likely to be passed on through food or are using skin creams that could contaminate food.
• Exclude yourself from food handling duties if symptoms develop at work.
• Maintain high personal cleanliness and wear suitable, clean, and protective clothing.

Handwashing Best Practices

Key actions for effective handwashing to prevent contamination:

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before handling food, especially after using the toilet.
• Wash hands after handling raw food, changing dressings, touching open wounds, or contact with faeces, vomit, animals, waste, bins, cleaning, and after breaks.
• Regularly wash hands throughout the day, especially after touching face, nose, mouth, ears, or hair.
• Dry hands thoroughly to prevent bacteria spread, especially focusing on the back of hands and tops of fingertips around nails.
• Keep nails short to facilitate effective handwashing; use liquid soap to clean under long nails.

Use of Gloves

Understanding the role of gloves in hygiene and their limitations:

• Gloves can cover damaged skin and protect against dermatitis from prolonged food handling and wet work.
• Gloves are not a substitute for proper hand hygiene; hands and gloves can both harbour bacteria.
• Change gloves regularly and wash hands before wearing new gloves.