PERSONAL HYGIENE

FOOD SAFETY (DEMT 2333)

DIPLOMA IN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
VICTORIA INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE

BY: MR KHAIRUL NIZAM MOHD ISA

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
 OBJECTIVES

 To identify the best practices of personal hygiene in

handling the food.

 To understand the practices in minimizing the food

poisoning.

 Study the protocols in exclusion of food handlers.

 Food handlers have a moral and legal responsibility to
ensure that food poisoning organism and other
contaminants are not introduce into body, by a failure to
observe basic principles of good personal hygiene.
 Staff Selection

 The foundation of standards of hygiene are built by:

 The employment of the right caliber of staff
 The provision of satisfactory training

 Successful recruitment – the formulation of job

specifications and descriptions which clearly define the
level of responsibility and skill required – responsible
salary is offered.
 Personal Appearance and attitude

 The following points should be considered when

interviewing and appointing staff.
 Food handlers must:
1. A clean, neat and tidy appearance

2. An absence of skin infections

3. Good dental hygiene

4. Clean hands with short finger nails and no evidence of

nail biting
5. An absence of excessive personal jewellery or make up

6. Clean shoes, suitable for the work area

7. A belief in the need for hygiene

 Medical screening

 Applicant’s medical history, esp. relating to foodborne

illness, food poisoning or persistent diarrhoea
 Medical questionnaire or interviewed by a doctor or nurse
 Submit a faecal or blood specimen, when necessary
 Chest X-rays
 Post appointment

 The role management

 Before any staff are allowed to commence work, they
should be advised, in writing of their personal obligations
in respect of hygiene
 Staff have a legal obligation to notify their supervisor if
they are suffering from any condition which exposes food
to risk
 After attending hygiene course, food handlers must be
encouraged and allowed to practice what they have been
taught.
 Management must lead by example and provide a hygienic
working environment togethet with adequate resources to
facilitate the achievement of high standards:
 Suitable & sufficient protective clothing

 Constant replenishment of liquid soap

 Paper towels & cleaning materials

 Wash-hand basin at the entrance of food rooms

 Clean Hands

 Hands are one of the principle agents in transferring

pathogens to food and handling should be reduced to the
minimum
 Finger nails should be kept short & clean. Nail varnish
should not be used.
 Bacteriological examination of the hands of food operatives
often demonstrates the presence of a large number of
potentially harmful organism generally originating from
contaminated food stuffs.
 It is important that hands are washed – on entering a food
room before handling food or equipment, after visiting
W.C., in between handling raw and cooked food, after
handling waste food and as frequently as necessary.
 Clean Hands

 Hand should be washed in warm water (45 C to 49 C)

with a suitable non-perfumed liquid/gel/ foam soap stored
in a wall-mounted dispenser.
 Effective means of hand drying must be provided.
Disposable towers, warm air and linen cabinet towels are
successfully, but each has its drawbacks.
 It is recommended that one warm air drier be provided for
every two wash-hand basins. The cabinet towel is
frequently seen trailing on the floor midway through the
day because of the difficulty in deciding the exactly when it
should be replaced by a new towel. If used, two separate
compartments must be present in the cabinet – avoid
contamination of unused towels.
 Clean Hands

 When selecting a hand-drying system, the following points should be

considered:
 Hygiene & safety factors including ease of cleaning
 The cost of purchase (or rental) & installation
 The cost of servicing & maintenance
 The efficiency & speed of the system
 The ease, reliability & standard of service
 The cost of electricity & paper towel (including disposal costs of
waste paper)
 The control that can be exercised to prevent abuse, vandalism &
pilferage
 The risk of product contamination from paper
 Notices requesting persons to wash their hands on entering the food
rooms should be displayed adjacent to the entrance & notices
requesting hand washing should be prominently displayed in the
sanitary accommodation.
 Clean Hands

 Nail brushes are vehicles of contamination and they should

be cleaned & disinfected frequently and at the end of eacf
day.
 After soaking in a suitable disinfectant, they should be
removed and allowed to dry. Alternatively, they should be
boiled.
 Disposable or plastic nail brushes with nylon bristles are
recommended.
 Cuts, Boils, Septic Spots & Skin Infections

 Employee with boil & septic cuts should be excluded from

food handling areas, such lession contain Staphylococcus
aureus.
 Uninfected wounds should be completely protected by a
conspicuously colored waterproof dressing – necessary to
prevent blood and bacteria from the cut containing the food
& also to prevent bacteria from food, esp raw meat or fish,
making cut septic. Waterproof dressing do not collect
grease or dirt.
 It is preferable that green or blue-colored detectable plaster
be used to improve their visibility in food.
 Cuts, Boils, Septic Spots & Skin Infections

 Metal strips incorporated in dressing assist detection where

metal detectors are in use
 Loss of dressing must be reported immediately. Perforated
plaster are not recommended.
 The Hair

 Hair is constantly falling out, along with dandruff, can

result in contaminations of food. Scalp often contains
pathogenic organism such as Staphylococcus aureus.
 The hair should be shampooed regularly & completely
enclosed by suitable head covering.
 Hairnet (blue) worn under turbans, helmets and hats are
recommended. Combing of hair & adjustment of head
covering should only take place in cloakroom & should not
be carried out whilst wearing protective clothing as hairs
may end up on the shoulders and then in the food products.
 Hair grips & clip must be worn. After having a hair cut stuff
should wash their hair before handling food or working in
food rooms.
 The Nose, Mouth and Ears

 Up to 40% adults carry Staphylococcus aureus in their nose

and 15% on their hands.
 Coughs & sneezing can carry droplets infection for a
considerable distance & person with bad colds should not
handle open food.
 The hand should be wash after blowing the nose and soiled
handkerchief should not be used, single use paper
handkerchief are preferable.
 The mouth is also likely to harbour Staphylococci and food
handlers should not eat sweets whilst working.
 Apart from being aesthetically unacceptable, spitting can
result in food contamination from Staphylococci or
streptococci & is illegal.
 Smoking

 Smoking must be prohibited in room containing open food

or whilst handling open food. This is not only because ash
or cigarette ends may find their way into open food but also
because:
 It encourages coughing
 It may result in an unsatisfactory working atmosphere for
non-smokers
 Of the risk of contaminating food from fingers touching
the lips while smoking
 Cigarette ends, contaminated with saliva are placed on
work benches
 Legible notices must be clearly displayed, emphasizing the
requirement not to smoke in food rooms.
 Protective Clothing

 All food handlers should wear clean, washable (withstand

up to 85 C), light-color, durable protective clothing
without external pockets.
 Protective garments – should completely cover ordinary
clothing and should not be removed whilst handling the
foods
 Jumper & shirt sleeves must not protrude and if short
sleeved overalls are worn, only clean forearms must be
visible. Press studs are preferred to buttons – less likely to
become detached.
 Staff must wear that protective clothing is worm primarily
to protect the food from risk contamination and not to keep
their own clothes clean.
 Protective Clothing

 Dust, pet hairs and woolen fibers are a few of the

contaminants carried on ordinary clothing. Protective
clothing must not be worn outside food premises or for
travelling to and from work.
 When selecting protective clothing, the manager must
consider:
1. The duties of the wearer & which parts of the body
should be covered
2. How the garments are fastened
3. The color and type of material
4. The smartness and fit (to improve customer image &
generate pride in the wearer)
5. Whether to purchase or use a laundry rental service
 Protective Clothing

 Outdoor clothing & personal effects must not be brought

into food rooms, unless in suitable lockers.
 Aprons should be suitable for the particular operation,
 Blue (to aid detection if damage) and capable of being
thoroughly leaned. Disposable aprons (blue) should be
disposed after each use.
 Boots may be provided for wearing in wet areas.
 They should be anti-slip, unlined and easy to clean.
 Rubber gloves may be worn for various jobs – on operation
belts in factories or for cleaning operations. If in contact
with food, gloves should be of a different color so that any
detached pieces can be easily detected.
 Protective Clothing

 The inside of glove provides a warm, moist environment

ideal for the multiplication of bacteria and gloves should
not be left on food contact surfaces.
 Thin, disposable gloves being used more frequently by food
handlers.
 Jewellery and Perfume

 Food handlers should not wear earrings, watches, jeweled

rings or brooches which habour dirt and bacteria.
 Stones and small pieces of metals may end up in the food
and result in customers complaint
 Strong-smelling perfume or aftershave should not be worn
by food handlers as they may taint foods, esp. food with
high fat content.
 Practices

 Bad habit are not easily broken and if they are exhibited by a food handler,
and present a risk of contaminating food, careful and conscientious control
is required.
 Common bad habits include:
 Wetting fingers to open bags or pick up sheet of wrapping papers
 Picking the nose
 Scratching the head or spots
 Tasting food with an unwashed spoon
 Coughing and sneezing on to hand and handling food without fast
washing
 Using a food sink for hand washing
 Using a wash-hand basin to rinse utensils
 Handling the inners parts of cookery or glasses
 Chewing gum, eating food or sweets in food rooms other than dining
areas
 Managers must ensure that stuff are not only familiar with the do’s and
don’ts of food hygiene but that they are always observed.
 Exclusion of Food Handlers

 Management should be aware that even with the strictest

application of health standards a health standards, a
healthy, symptom-free employee may be excreting
pathogenic bacteria or viruses.
 Food handlers with food poisoning symptoms, i.e.
diarrhoea/ vomiting/suspected of carrying food poisoning
organism. Because of close contact with a confirmed case or
consuming a meal with known caused illness should be
excluded for many job which would expose food to risk of
contamination.
 Person who are subsequently confirmed as excreting food
poisoning organism must not be allowed to engage in food
handling until they have been symptom free for 48 hours.
 Exclusion of Food Handlers

 Person returning from holiday abroad, particularly from

countries with warm climates and suspect sanitation,
should complete a short medical questionnaires. Even if
they have recovered from symptoms of diarrhoea or
vomiting experienced on holiday.
 They should be excluded from food handling until they
have provided at least one negative faecal specimen.
 Person suspected suffering from food poisoning, typhoid,
paratyphoid or dysentery can be excluded from food
handling by Local Authority and compensation paid to
cover loss of wages.
 Exclusion of Food Handlers

 Eczema and psoriasis which are often associated with

secondary infection
 Boils and septic cuts
 Respiratory tract infections from heavy cold to chronic
bronchitis
 Infection of eyes
 Recurrent discharge from the ears and dental sepsis or
purulent gingivitis
 Faecal specimens should be taken at interval of not less
than 24 hours.

Aeromonas spp., bacillus spp.,
Campylobacter spp.,
Clostridium perfingens,
Crytosporidium spp., E.Coli,
Salmonella spp. (excluding
typhoid & paratyphoid), vibrio
paramaemolyticus, viral
gastroenteritis, Yersinia spp.
Staphylococcus aureus
Shegella spp.
Clostridium botulinum
E. Coli
Hepatitis A
Entamoeba histolytica
Typhoid & Paratyphoid
Case when symptom-free
48 hours after first normal stool
providing adequate hygiene is
practiced.
Septic lession treated & healed
Passing formed stool
None
2 negative specimens
7 days after onset of jaundice or None
symptoms
3 negative specimens
6 consecutive negative stool
specimens at 2 weekly intervals
starting 2 weeks after the
completion of antibiotics
therapy
Symptomless contact
None
None
None
Treatment of those at
risk
Screen microbiologically
Screen microbiologically
3 negative consecutive
stools at weekly interval
starting 3 weeks after
last contact with case