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Foodborne Illness and Contamination

Foodborne illness refers to diseases, usually either infectious or toxic, caused by agents that enter the body
through the ingestion/consumption of contaminated food.
Types of Foodborne Illnesses
• Intoxications (food poisoning) occur when a pathogen produces a toxin(s) while growing in food
before it is eaten. Upon consumption of a sufficient quantity of “poisoned food”, the host becomes ill.
Botulism and staphylococcal food poisoning are the best-known foodborne intoxications. Viruses and
parasites do not cause intoxications.
• Infections are caused when viable pathogens in food survive passage through the host’s stomach into
the intestine. Some bacteria, all viruses, and parasites cause illness via infection.
• Toxin-mediated infection is caused by eating a food that contains harmful microorganisms that will
produce a toxin once inside the human body.
Foodborne disease outbreak is an incident in which two (2) or more people experience a similar illness after
eating common food.
Contamination
Contamination is the presence of substances or conditions in food that can be harmful to humans. Bacteria
and viruses pose the greatest food safety challenges for all retail food establishments. Food contamination
happens when something gets into food that shouldn’t be there. These are the three (3) types of food
contamination:
• Physical contamination happens when physical objects enter the food. Common sources of physical
contamination include hair, glass or metal, wood chips, jewelry, dirt, fingernails, and pests.
• Chemical contamination occurs when chemicals get into food. Common sources of chemical
contamination in a commercial kitchen include kitchen cleaning agents, unwashed fruits and
vegetables, food containers made from non-safe plastics, pest control products, and kitchen
equipment.
• Biological contamination is when bacteria or other harmful microorganisms contaminate food; it is a
common cause of food poisoning and food spoilage.
Contaminated food can have dire consequences for the person who eats it, and for the business who sold it.
Food handlers must be trained to handle food safely, practice good personal hygiene and prevent cross-
contamination to protect customers — and their employers — from the consequences of food-borne illness,
allergic reactions to food, or injuries from contaminated food.
Cross-Contamination
Cross-contamination refers to the transfer of contaminants from a surface, object, or person to food. It occurs
from the transfer of harmful bacteria directly onto high-risk food. These food items are generally considered
to be ‘ready to eat food items’ that require no further cooking. This can happen in many different ways.
Common causes of cross-contamination include:
• Clothing: Dirty clothes can transport bacteria from one place to another. If possible, clothing should
be replaced when moving from one work area to another. One should also thoroughly wash one’s face
and hands. This is especially important when working with high-risk foods or when preparing allergen-
free meals.
• Utensils: Different utensils should be used to prepare different types of foods. For example, no one
should never use the same chopping board or knife to prepare raw meat and ready-to-eat foods.

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• Food Handlers: Coughing, sneezing, or even touching one’s face or hair before handling food can cause
cross-contamination. Washing hands regularly when handling food is essential.
• Pests: Flies, cockroaches, mice, and rats carry harmful bacteria, which they can transport from one
place to another. Pest control is vitally important in the workplace when it comes to preventing cross-
contamination.
• Raw food storage: Cross-contamination frequently occurs when raw food comes into contact with
cooked or ready-to-eat food. If this happens, it's fair to assume the cooked or ready-to-eat food has
become contaminated. Raw food should always be covered and stored below ready-to-eat food in the
refrigerator to prevent this type of contamination.
• Waste control: Garbage should be stored and sealed correctly to prevent cross-contamination. It
should always be stored away from other items in the kitchen to ensure it never comes into contact
with food during preparation. Regular cleaning and sanitizing of waste bins should also be carried out
to minimize the risk of pest infestation.
The best way to prevent food contamination from happening in a food business is through food safety training
and education. Food handlers must be trained in fundamental food safety concepts and practical skills, such
as safe cooking temperatures, proper storage, and preparation of high-risk food items (also called potentially
hazardous food [PHF] items), effective cleaning and sanitizing techniques, and the importance of personal
hygiene and their legal responsibilities with regards to food safety.
Personal Hygiene
It is imperative for safe food-handling outcomes for all
workers to be familiar with standard sanitation and hygiene
practices. One (1) of the basic principles is to break the cycle
of transmission of microorganisms (see Figure 1) by avoiding
cross-contamination, which can be achieved by ensuring
personal hygiene practices.
Proper personal hygiene is critical in any food service
premise. Personal hygiene includes:
• Showering and bathing regularly
• Keeping hair clean and covered or tied back
• Keeping clean clothing and footwear that is used only at
work
• Handwashing regularly Figure 1. Cycle of bacterial transmission
• Using clean utensils for tasting food Source: BC Cook Articulation Committee

• Using separate cloths for cleaning and wiping plates

Proper and regular handwashing is a critical part of any food safety system and should be carried out
thoroughly to prevent the spread of contamination. Hands must be washed as needed, especially at the
following times:
• Before starting work • After cleaning
• Before handling food • After blowing one’s nose
• After using the toilet
• After handling raw food and raw food
packaging
• After touching bins or handling waste
• After every break
• After eating and drinking

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Steps in Proper Handwashing:

• Wet both hands with hot running water. Use water as hot as one can comfortably stand, but at least
100°F (38°C).
• Apply enough hand soap to make a good lather.
• Rub or scrub hands thoroughly for 20 seconds or longer in the following areas (not necessarily in
order):
o Back of fingers
o Palm to palm
o Fingernails
o Between fingers
o Wrists
o Back of the hands
o Lower part of forearms
o Base of thumbs
• Rinse hands well under hot running water for about 10 seconds, pointing down toward the drain.
• Dry hands with clean single-use paper towels or a warm-air hand dryer. One (1) must also use the
same paper towel to turn off taps/faucets and to open the bathroom door or lavatory upon going out.
The duration of the entire procedure is 40-60 seconds.
Using hand gloves correctly can help protect food against cross-contamination. If used improperly, however,
these can also spread contamination just easily as bare hands.
• Wash hands before putting on gloves or when changing to another pair. Gloves are not a substitute
for proper handwashing.
• Remove and discard gloves, wash hands, and change to a clean pair of gloves after handling one (1)
food item and before starting to work on another. In particular, never fail to change gloves after
handling raw meat, poultry, or seafood. Important Note: Gloves are for single/one-time use only.
• Change to a clean pair of gloves whenever gloves become torn, soiled, or contaminated by contact
with an unsanitary surface.
Personal Cleanliness
• Hair should be tied back and preferably covered (with a hairnet if required by the establishment).
• Food handlers should not sneeze or cough over food.
• Cuts and sores should be covered with a waterproof (preferably highly visible) dressing.
• Jewelry should be kept to a minimum when preparing and handling food.
Protective Clothing
• All staff working in the food preparation area should wear suitable, clean protective clothing, which
should be changed and laundered regularly at a suitably high temperature to protect the food being
prepared.
• If protective clothing becomes contaminated from handling raw food, it must be changed before
handling ready-to-eat food. The use of disposable plastic aprons is recommended when carrying out
activities where raw food items are being handled and where there is a high risk of protective clothing
being contaminated by raw foods.
• Handwashing should take place after removing contaminated clothing and before putting on clean
protective clothing. Rules on the safe use of protective clothing must be written in the House Rules.
Reporting Illness/Exclusion
• Food handlers suffering from any of the complaints listed on the Return to Work Questionnaire (see
03 Handout 2 for a sample), must be excluded from food handling until they have fully recovered.

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• It is a good practice to encourage staff to report also if anyone in their household is suffering from
diarrhea, stomach upset, or vomiting. The law puts the responsibility on employers to satisfy
themselves that no food handler poses a risk to food safety.
Monitoring and Corrective Action
• Once House Rules for Personal Hygiene is completed, one (1) must monitor its use. Keep a record of
this monitoring in the Weekly Record or Logbook.
• House Rules for Personal Hygiene must be implemented at all times. If observed that members of staff
have not washed their hands when they should, make sure they wash them straight away and if there
is a possibility that ready-to-eat food has become contaminated, throw it away. Make a record of the
identified problem and the action to be taken to correct it in the Weekly Record.
Personal Illness and Injury
Body Fluids
These include body secretions such as saliva, mucus, sweat, blood, urine, and fecal matter. Food handlers
should take the following practical measures to prevent contamination from body fluids:
• Washing hands thoroughly after using the toilet
• Washing hands thoroughly after handling a handkerchief or nasal tissue to cough or sneeze into,
and/or using it to blow the nose.
• Refraining from spitting in any food area
• Refraining from smoking or chewing tobacco in any food area
• Staying away from work when suffering cold or flu symptoms – and obtaining a doctor’s certificate
stating that as a food handler it is safe to return to work.
• Observing all personal hygiene rules
• Avoiding the tasting of food with a spoon and then returning the utensil to the food
• Wearing a sweat band – or mopping areas that sweat and then thoroughly washing hands: consider
wearing antiperspirant.
• Covering all cuts and sores with approved waterproof dressings and bandages – and adding a finger
stall and/or disposable glove, as appropriate.
• Not blowing with the breath into a bag to be used to wrap food – such as takeaway food items.
• Not wetting fingers to assist with separating sheets of wrapping paper when packaging take away
food.
• Not touching any body opening such as ears, eyes, or nose; thorough hand washing must occur if this
happens.
Category of Foodborne Diseases
 Category 1 – Suffering from symptoms of foodborne disease. If a food handler has any of the
symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, sore throat with fever, fever, or jaundice, they must advise their
supervisor and should seek immediate medical attention. Food handlers should stay away or not come
to work for 48 hours after their symptoms have disappeared and can produce formed stools.
 Category 2 – Having a definite knowledge of the foodborne disease one (1) is suffering. When food
handlers know that they are suffering from a foodborne illness, they must have their condition
diagnosed by a doctor. Knowing the name of the disease is important when determining what action
must be taken.
 Category 3 – Being a carrier of foodborne disease. A carrier is someone who has no symptoms of the
disease but is capable of spreading the disease by contaminating food. Individuals will only know they
are carriers if they have been diagnosed as such by a doctor.

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What to do about these identified categories?

 Notify direct supervisor
 Abstain from handling food
 Take appropriate measures to prevent food contamination
What to do if a food handler is suffering from a condition (sore, cut, boil, acne, or abrasion)?
 Cover the lesion completely with a waterproof bandage or dressing
 Not touching the lesion or discharge
 Washing hands thoroughly if the lesion or discharge is touched
 Using appropriate medication to address the problem
 Using disposable tissues to handle discharge, followed by proper handwashing – as opposed to using
a handkerchief or a kitchen towel.
One (1) must ban himself/herself from all food handling activities where health poses a contamination risk
to food and/or food surfaces, equipment, utensils, crockery, cutlery, and glassware. Failure to do so can lead
to outbreaks of food poisoning, and the tests health authorities perform can readily identify the person
responsible for the outbreak.
If a food handler is identified as the cause of such an outbreak and knowingly continued to work – or have
knowingly contaminated food – must be subjected to criminal and civil action.
Smoking and Spitting
In any food area, one (1) must never smoke, chew tobacco, or spit. It is a good idea to put up “No Smoking”
posters in all food areas and to remove ashtrays from these areas. If one (1) smokes outside the work/food
area, remember to wash hands before returning to work to remove any bacteria transferred from the
mouth/lips to the fingers.

References:
Australian Institute of Food Safety (2020). Food safety and the different types of food contamination. Retrieved from
https://www.foodsafety.com.au/blog/food-safety-and-the-different-types-of-food-contamination
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). (2012). Comply with workplace hygiene procedures. William Angliss Institute of TAFE
BC Cook Articulation Committee (n.d). Food safety, sanitation, and personal hygiene. Creative Commons
Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (2011). Food hygiene, health and safety: Study guide. BPP Learning Media, Ltd.

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