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FOOD SPOILAGE
All food handlers are responsible for ensuring and maintaining a high level of personal
cleanliness.
General Rules to ensure Personal Hygiene for the Food handler are as follows:
1. Wear suitable, ideally short sleeved clothing to reduce contamination of clothing whilst
carrying out duties.
2. Wear appropriate protective clothing for the task: A disposable apron should be the bare
minimum, removed when leaving the food preparation area and changed for different duties
e.g. cooking, cleaning, feeding etc.
3. Hands- Should be clean* with short unvarnished nails to minimise cross contamination.
No hand jewellery or wristwatch should be worn. The wedding band is the only exception
to this.
These rules are similar to the 'bare below the elbow' concept adopted nationwide in NHS
trusts throughout the UK. Cover any hand cuts and sores before handling food using clean,
regularly changed contrasting coloured waterproof dressings which can be traced easily if
become detached during food preparation.
Contact Dermatitis
According to the HSE (2008) Health and Safety in Catering, contact dermatitis is one of the
main causes of ill health for catering staff. Work-related dermitis is a skin disease caused by
work. It is often called excema and develops when they skin's barrier is damaged. It is mainly
found on the hands, followed by forearms and face.
Precautions
Avoid contact with cleaning products, food and water where possible, e.g, use
a dishwasher rather than washing by hand and use utensils rather than using hands
to handle food.
Protect your skin by wearing gloves when working with substances that can
cause dermatitis and moisturise your hands to replenish the skins natural oils.
Check your hands regularly for the early stages of dermatitis, i.e, itchy, dry or
red skin. These symptoms should be reported to a supervisor ASAP as treatment is
much more effective if dermatitis is caught early.
In 2002, a FSA survey among catering managers and staff showed that nearly
40% did not wash their hands after visiting the toilet at work.
Similar statistics have been found amongst the general population with an
estimated up to 50% of men and 25% of women failing to wash their hands
after visiting the toilet.
Our hands are the perfect site for the growth and spread of bacteria.
Photo: Bacteria
Bacteria can live for hours on the hands and nail crevices.
Regular, thorough hand washing lowers the bacterial load carried by hands.
Bacterial spread is facilitated by damp hands and many tea towels harbour
Hands should be washed with SOAP and WARM WATER in a separate sink to where
food is prepared:
1) Before starting work (especially if working with vulnerable people).
2) After a break/ going to the toilet
3) Before food preparation and touching cooked foods
4) After touching certain raw foods e.g. meat, poultry
5) After handling food waste/ emptying the bin
6) After touching animals (pets), their toys, litter trays, food bowls etc and after being
in the garden.
7) After cleaning
8) After nose blowing/ sneezing
9) Before and after contact with clients/ care home residents, their bedding, bed pans
and medical equipment.
10) Healthcare professionals should make sure:
PERSONAL HYGIENE 2
Sneezing/Nose blowing
Eating/Chewing gum
spread of germs.
Hands should be washed thoroughly after sneezing, coughing and nose blowing with
5. have been in close contact with someone with diarrhoea and vomiting.
They may be asked to refrain from work in the interests of client/ service user safety.
A symptom free 48 hours should elapse before those with diarrhoea and
vomiting return to work.
Thumbs
The responsibility of personal hygiene and health lies with the healthcare
professional.
FOOD LABELS
Food labels are an important source of information about the foods shelf life (use by
and best before dates), storage and cooking instructions.
In the UK foodstuffs have 1 of 2 labels to indicate the nature of deterioration:
Use By Date
Best Before
Date
Should part of your duties involve buying food supplies on behalf of your client, use
the following tips:
1. Choose fresh produce and ensure ready to eat foods are within use by date
on label
2. Check packaging is intact
3. Separate raw and ready to eat products when packing
4. Pack foods that bruise or damage easily above other foods.
5. Chilled/ frozen products should be:
Buy smaller quantities if living alone to reduce wastage and increased usage
Safe' are low risk foods including fruit, confectionery and savoury dried snacks.
Unsafe include those that contain raw egg and will not be cooked thoroughly including
Cooked foods, cream containing desserts/cakes and foods with a use by date should be
transported in a cooler bag and refrigerated immediately.