Learning Objectives

At the end of the chapter the participants must be able to:

1. Identify personal behaviors that can contaminate food.
2. Identify proper hand-washing techniques.
3. Identify when hands should be washed.
4. Identify appropriate hand sanitizers and when to use them. Identify hand
maintenance requirements. Identify the proper procedure for covering cuts,
wounds, and sores.
5. Identify procedures that must be followed when using gloves.
6. Identify jewelry that pose a hazard to food safety.
7. Identify requirements for employee work attire.
8. Identify the regulatory exceptions for allowing bar-hand contact with ready-to-eat
and cooked food.
9. Identify criteria for excluding an employee from the establishment or restricting
them from working with or around food.
10. Identify criteria for excluding or restricting employees from working within
establishments that serve high-risk populations.
11. Identify illnesses that are required to be reported in the health agency.
12. Identify policies that should be implemented at the establishment regarding
eating, drinking, and smoking while working with food.

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Personal Hygiene and Contamination How Food Handlers Can Contaminate Food

Managers must focus on the following: Food handlers can contaminate food
 Establishing specific personal hygiene policies when they:
 Training food handlers on personal hygiene  Have a foodborne illness
policies and retraining them regularly  Have symptoms such as diarrhea,
 Modeling correct behavior at all times vomiting, or jaundice—a yellowing of the
eyes or skin
 Supervising food safety practices
 Have wounds that contain a pathogen
 Revising personal hygiene policies when laws
or science change  Sneeze or cough
 Have contact with a person who is sick
 Touch anything that may contaminate
their hands and do not wash them

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How Food Handlers Can Contaminate Food A Good Personal Hygiene Program

Actions that can contaminate food: Good personal hygiene includes:

 Following hygienic hand practices
A. Scratching the E. Touching a pimple or  Maintaining personal cleanliness
scalp infected wound
 Wearing clean and appropriate clothing,
B. Running fingers F. Wearing a dirty restraining hair, and removing jewelry
through hair uniform
 Avoiding unsanitary habits and actions
C. Wiping or touching G. Coughing or
the nose
 Maintaining good health
sneezing into the
hand  Covering wounds
D. Rubbing an ear
H. Spitting in the  Reporting health issues
operation

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1
 Handwashing When to Wash Hands

How to wash hands (should take at least 20 seconds):
1. Wet hands and arms. Use
running water as hot as you
can comfortably stand. It
should be at least
100°F(38°C).
4. Rinse hands and arms
thoroughly. Use running
warm water.
Food handlers must wash their hands
before they start work and after:
 Using the restroom
 Handling raw meat, poultry, and
2. Apply soap. Apply
3. Scrub hands and arms seafood (before and after)
enough to build up a
vigorously. Scrub them
good lather.
for 10 to 15 seconds.  Touching the hair, face, or body
Clean under fingernails
and between fingers.  Sneezing, coughing, or using
a tissue
 Eating, drinking, smoking, or chewing gum
or tobacco
5. Dry hands and arms. Use a  Handling chemicals that might
single-use paper towel or hand affect food safety
dryer. Consider using a paper
towel to turn off the faucet and
open the restroom door.

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When to Wash Hands Hand Antiseptics

Food handlers must wash their hands after: Hand antiseptics:

 Taking out garbage  Liquids or gels used to lower the number
 Clearing tables or busing dirty dishes of pathogens on skin

 Touching clothing or aprons  Must comply with the CFR and

FDA standards
 Handling money
 Should be used only after handwashing
 Leaving and returning to the kitchen/prep area
 Must NEVER be used in place of
 Handling service animals or aquatic animals handwashing
 Touching anything else that may  Should be allowed to dry before touching
contaminate hands food or equipment

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Hand Care Hand Care

Infected wounds or cuts:

Requirements for food handlers:
 Contain pus
 Must be covered to prevent pathogens
from contaminating food and food-contact surfaces

How a wound is covered depends on

where it is located:
 Cover wounds on the hand or wrist with an
Keep fingernails Do NOT wear Do NOT wear impermeable cover, (i.e. bandage or finger cot) and
short and clean false nails nail polish then a single-use glove
 Cover wounds on the arm with an impermeable cover,
such as a bandage
 Cover wounds on other parts of the body with a dry,
tight-fitting bandage
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2
 Bare-Hand Contact with Ready-to-Eat Food Single-Use Gloves

Bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat Single-use gloves:

food must be avoided:  Should be used when handling ready-to-eat food
 Some jurisdictions allow it but require o Except when washing produce
o Policies on staff health o Except when handling ready-to-eat ingredients for a
o Training in handwashing and dish that will be cooked
personal hygiene practices  Must NEVER be used in place of handwashing
 NEVER handle ready-to-eat food with bare  Must NEVER be washed and reused
hands when you primarily serve a high-risk
population  Must be for single use only
 Should be right for the task
 Must fit correctly
 Must be safe, durable and clean

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Single-Use Gloves Single-Use Gloves

How to use gloves: When to change gloves:

 Wash and dry hands before putting gloves on
 Choose the correct glove size
 Hold gloves by the edge when putting them on
 Once gloves are on, check for rips or tears
 Do NOT blow into gloves
 Do NOT roll gloves to make them easier to put on
 As soon as they become dirty or torn
 Before beginning a different task
 After an interruption, such as taking a phone call
 After handling raw meat, seafood, or poultry and
before handling ready-to-eat food
 At least every four hours during continual use and more
often when necessary

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Correct Work Attire Proper Work Attire

Food handlers must:

A

Foodhandlers must remove:

 Wear a clean hat or other hair restraint
B • Rings (except for a plain band)
 Wear clean clothing daily
• Bracelets (including medical ID’s)
 Remove aprons when leaving food-preparation areas
• Watches
 Remove jewelry from hands and arms before prepping D

food or when working around prep areas • Earrings

 Wear clean, closed-toe shoes C
• Necklaces
• Facial jewelry

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3
 Eating, Drinking, Smoking, and Chewing Gum or Tobacco Reporting Health Issues

Food handlers must not:

If:
 Eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum or tobacco
The food handler has a sore throat with a fever
 Some regulatory authorities allow food handlers
to drink from a covered container while in prep
and dishwashing areas.
Then:
 Restrict the food handler from working with or
When: around food

 Prepping or serving food  Exclude the food handler from the operation if
you primarily serve a high-risk population
 Working in prep areas
 A written release from a medical practitioner is
 Working in areas used to clean utensils and equipment required before returning to work

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Reporting Health Issues Reporting Health Issues

If:
If:
The food handler has at least one of these
The food handler has jaundice
symptoms
 Vomiting Then:
 Diarrhea  Food handlers with jaundice must be reported to the
regulatory authority
Then:
 Exclude food handlers who’ve had jaundice for less than
Exclude the food handler from the operation seven days from the operation
 Before returning to work, food handlers who vomited  Food handlers must have a written release from a
or had diarrhea must meet one of these requirements medical practitioner and approval from the regulatory
o Have had no symptoms for at least 24 hours authority before returning to work
o Have a written release from a medical practitioner

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Reporting Health Issues

If:
The food handler has been diagnosed with a foodborne illness
caused by one of these pathogens and has symptoms
 Hepatitis A
 Salmonella Typhi
 Enterohemorrhagic and shiga toxin-producing E. coli
 Norovirus
 Shigella spp.
Then:
 Exclude the food handler from the operation
 Work with the food handler’s medical practitioner and/or the local
regulatory authority to decide when the person can go back to work

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