Employee Hygiene

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Employee Hygiene

Foodborne illness can be caused by poor personal hygiene of food handlers. Approximately 26 percent of foodborne illness is caused this way.

Frequent handwashing is the easiest way to prevent foodborne illness. Hands should be washed whenever a different food type is being handled or at least every two hours. This includes waiters and waitresses.

Eating, drinking, using the bathroom and smoking can all cause contamination. Employees should wash their hands after any of these activities.

Hair nets or other effective hair restraints are required to keep employees hair out of the food and to keep employees from touching their hair.

Jewelry should not be worn on the hands, except for a wedding band.

Employees should wear clean uniforms each day. They should not wear street clothes.

Employers are required to provide a locker room or similar changing area for employees.

Employees who are sick should not be allowed to handle food. Handkerchief use should not be allowed as it is not sanitary.

Disposable tissues should be used by employees. Employees should always wash their hands after using a tissue as this is the primary way viruses are spread.

Sweat and blood are contaminants. Employees should take precautions to prevent sweat or blood from contaminating food. If an employee has any open sores, they must wear protective coverings (plastic gloves for hands, large bandages for rest of body, etc.) to protect the food they handle.

Employees who handle food are no longer allowed to wear fingernail polish or artificial fingernails as they pose a contamination hazard for the food, unless they wear gloves to prevent the contamination hazard.