IHM,KOLKATA

Department of Food Production

Bonophool Banerjee

PERSONAL HYGIENE

Rules of personal hygiene and sanitary food handling were not invented just to make your life
difficult.There are good reasons for all of them. The information presented here is practical as
well as theoretical. It should not merely be learned but should be put to use systematically.
One effective system food service establishments can use to ensure food safety is the Hazard
Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system. This practical program identifies
possible danger points and sets up procedures for corrective action. Preventing food-borne
illness is one of the most important challenges facing every food service worker. In order to
prevent illness, a food worker must understand the sources
of food-borne disease.

Most food-borne illness is the result of eating food that has been contaminated. To say that a
food is contaminated means it contains harmful substances that were not present originally in
the food. In other words, contaminated food is food that is not pure.

Any substance in food that can cause illness or injury is called a hazard. Food hazards are of
three types:

1. Biological hazards
2. Chemical hazards
3. Physical hazards

Notice it was said that most food-borne illness is caused by eating food that has been
contaminated with foreign substances. Some illness is caused not by contaminants but by
substances that occur naturally in foods. These include plant toxins (toxin means “poison”)
that occur naturally in some foods,such as the chemicals in poisonous mushrooms, and also
certain natural food components to which some people are allergic

PERSONAL HYGIENE

Earlier, we said that most food-borne disease is caused by bacteria. Now we change that
statement slightly to say that most food-borne disease is caused by bacteria spread by food
workers. At the beginning of this chapter, we defined contamination as harmful substances
not present originally in the food. Some contamination occurs before we receive the food,
which means that proper purchasing and receiving procedures are important parts of a
sanitation program. But most food contamination occurs as a result of crosscontamination,
which may be defined as the transferring of hazardous substances, mainly microorganisms, to
a food from another food or another surface, such as equipment, worktables, or hands. Some
examples of situations in which cross-contamination can occur include the following:

• Mixing contaminated leftovers with a freshly cooked batch of food.

• Handling ready-to-eat foods with unclean hands. Handling several types of foods without
washing hands in between.
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Department of Food Production

• Cutting raw chicken, then using the same cutting board, unsanitized, to cut vegetables.

• Placing ready-to-eat foods on a lower refrigerator shelf and allowing juices from raw fish or
meat to drip onto them from an upper shelf.

• Wiping down work surfaces with a soiled cloth. For the food worker, the first step in
preventing food-borne disease is good personal hygiene. Even when we are healthy, we have
bacteria all over our skin and in our nose and mouth. Some of these bacteria, if given the
chance to grow in food, will make people ill.

POINTS TO BE REMEMBERED

11. Do not work with food if you have any communicable disease or infection.

12. Bathe or shower daily.

13. Wear clean uniforms and aprons.

14. Keep hair neat and clean. Always wear a hat or hairnet.

15. Keep moustaches and beards trimmed and clean. Better yet, be clean-shaven.

16. Wash hands and exposed parts of arms before work and as often as necessary during
work, including:

• After eating, drinking , or smoking.

• After using the toilet.

• After touching or handling anything that may be contaminated with bacteria.

17. Cover coughs and sneezes, then wash hands.

18. Keep your hands away from your face, eyes, hair, and arms.

19. Keep fingernails clean and short. Do not wear nail polish.

10. Do not smoke or chew gum while on duty.

11. Cover cuts or sores with clean bandages.

12. Do not sit on worktables.

HAZARDS FROM FOOD HANDLERS

Staphylococcus aureus is often found

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Department of Food Production

▪ On the hands (10%)

▪ In the nose (40%) mouth
▪ Spots, cuts and grazes.
▪ Cross contamination if hands are not washed correctly

HANDS

▪ One of the most common routes by which food poisoning bacteria gain access to food
▪ They should be washed:
➢ Frequently
➢ After WC
➢ On entering food room and after a break .Before handling food or food
equipment .After handling raw food
➢ After combing or touching hair
➢ After eating, smoking, coughing, or blowing nose
➢ After handling waste or refuse
➢ After handling cleaning chemicals or cleaning

▪ The correct hand washing procedure is essential .

This ideally requires:

➢ Designated wash hand basin
➢ Non hand operated taps
➢ Hot and cold or warm water (45-49°C) .Liquid soap (Good lather required)
Fingertips, under nails, in between fingers, wrists
➢ Thorough rinsing in running water to remove lather (contains dirt/bacteria)
➢ Thorough drying (paper towels preferred)

RULES IN FOOD ROOMS

DO
DO NOT

Blow into bags/glasses Keep hands clean

Smoke Keep nails short

Spit Keep nails clean

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Department of Food Production

Eat (sweets/gum) Wear perfume sparingly

Wear excessive Wear waterproof

jewellery dressings

Wear false nails Replace when loose

Wear nail varnish Use tasting spoons only

once

Wear watches Change soiled

overclothing

Touch mouth/lick
fingers

Use disposable gloves

inappropriately

REASONS FOR FOOD HANDLERS NOT SMOKING

▪ Bacteria from lips to food
▪ Cigarette ends may contaminate work surfaces
▪ It encourages coughing
▪ Unpleasant for other people
▪ Ash, matches, cigarette ends may contaminate food
▪ Presents a poor image

CUTS, BOllS SEPTIC SPOTS AND SKIN INFECTIONS

▪ Exclude food handlers with open boils and septic lesions from food area
▪ Staphylococcus aureus is the main problem .
▪ Waterproof dressings (preferably blue) must cover cuts etc
▪ Loose dressings replaced immediately
▪ Consider waterproof fingerstalls and gloves

FIRST AID
.Suitable and sufficient supply of first aid materials

PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
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Department of Food Production

▪ Worn primarily to protect food from the wearers clothing

▪ Clean and washable
▪ Light Coloured and in good repair
▪ No external pockets
▪ No buttons
▪ Press studs or velcro fastenings preferred .Laundered in house
▪ Cover ordinary clothing likely to contact food .Wear head covering and/or hairnet
where appropriate
▪ It should protect food from the risk of contamination
▪ Not worn out of the food room or complex .
▪ Better if removed prior to entering canteen or toilet .Colour coding is recommended to
aid distinction between "Raw" staff and "Cooked" staff

Correct procedures when putting on or taking off i.e.:

On
✓ put on hairnet/hat
✓ put on overall
✓ put on boots

Off
✓ remove overall
✓ remove hat/hairnet
✓ take off boots

Some protective clothing is also used for health & safety reasons:
▪ Thick overall (protect against cold)
▪ Loose clothing (in case of boiling water spillage)
▪ Stout, non-slip shoes
▪ Waterproof aprons
▪ Protective head covering (Factory environment)
 IHM,KOLKATA

Department of Food Production

 IHM,KOLKATA

Department of Food Production