People are one of the most common causes of contamination. Good personal habits are simple and make a big difference.
What the rule says
Annex II, Chapter VIII of Regulation (EC) 852/2004 asks for a high degree of personal cleanliness. People who work with food must wear clean, suitable clothing, and a head covering and protection where needed. Anyone who is ill or a carrier of a disease that can be transmitted through food, or who has infected wounds, skin infections, sores or diarrhoea, may not handle food if there is a risk of contamination.
If you have these symptoms you must tell your employer straight away. The notice is there to protect customers, not to punish the worker.
Hand washing
Hands are the most common way for microbes to reach food. Wash them with soap and water for as long as is needed, then rinse and dry with a disposable paper towel or another clean method. The hand-wash basin must have water, liquid soap and a hygienic way of drying.
Always wash your hands:
- before starting work and after every break;
- after going to the toilet;
- after touching raw food (meat, poultry, eggs, fish, vegetables with soil);
- after touching waste, money, a phone, cardboard boxes or cleaning products;
- after coughing, sneezing, blowing your nose or touching your face and hair;
- after eating, drinking or smoking;
- before moving from work with raw food to work with ready-to-eat food.
Hand sanitiser gels do not replace washing: they work poorly on visibly dirty or greasy hands.
Gloves
Disposable gloves are not magic. If they are dirty or touch contaminated surfaces, they become a means of contamination. Use them like this:
- put them on with washed hands;
- change them when you move from one food to another, especially from raw to ready-to-eat;
- change them if they tear or get dirty;
- do not touch your phone, money, face or waste with gloves on;
- they do not replace hand washing, which is still necessary.
Clothing and appearance
- Wear clean work clothes, used only in the kitchen or workshop.
- Cover your hair with a cap or hairnet; cover a long beard.
- Short, clean nails, with no polish or false nails.
- No rings, bracelets, watches or earrings that can fall into food or hold dirt.
- Cover wounds with a coloured plaster (so it can be seen if it falls off) and a glove over it.
- Do not wear work clothes outside the premises, for example in the street or in the toilet.
Behaviour to avoid
- Eating, drinking, chewing gum or smoking where food is handled.
- Coughing or sneezing over food; if needed, step away and wash your hands.
- Tasting with your fingers or with a spoon that then goes back into the pot. Use a clean teaspoon for every taste.
- Wiping your hands on your apron or on a cloth.
Visitors and outside staff
Technicians, suppliers and visitors who enter areas where food is prepared must also follow the premises' hygiene rules: head covering, clean clothes, hand washing.
Remember
- Anyone with vomiting, diarrhoea or infected wounds says so straight away and does not handle food.
- Hands are washed with soap and water at all the key moments.
- Gloves must be changed and do not replace hand washing.
- Clean clothes, hair covered, no jewellery.