Pathogenic bacteria carried on the hands and transferred into foods during its preparation are one of the most common causes of food contamination.
Food must be handled sanitarily in order to prevent the growth of microorganisms already present and to prevent further contamination. Personal hygiene is the best way to stop bacteria form contaminating and spreading into new areas.
Rules of personal hygiene that must be strictly observed by food handlers are reasonable and require little more than common sense and awareness.
1. Person with communicable disease, including skin infections, should never be allowed to handle foods to be consumed by other. Obviously, this means that all food handlers must undergo periodic physical examinations to establish this qualification. An employee who has the symptoms of the common cold or any open cuts or infections should not go to work.
2. Hand cream with disinfectant should be used to keep the skin in good condition. Cracks and grooves in the skin surfaces or round the nails or knuckles usually harbor Staphylococci bacteria which are not easily removed when the hands are washed.
3. Food handlers should observe physical cleanliness and should wear clean (preferably white) work uniforms (no jewelry).
4. They should keep the head covered. Clean shaven or facial hair contained in a net. Nail should always be kept short and should be scrubbed whenever the hands are washed because bacterial will collected under them.
5. When possible, gloves should be worn, but whether or nit gloves are worn, the hands should be washed and dipped in a disinfectant prior to handling food. The hands should be rewashed after handling anything dirty such as touching dirty apron or taking out the thrash.
6. When handling foods, the hand should not touch the mouth, nose, or other part of the body, especially body openings, since these are possible sources of pathogens.
7. Smoking or eating by employees in food preparation areas is prohibited because of the potential that the hands, food and food contact surfaces may become contaminated.
8. Pets and other animals do not belong in the food processing area.
9. Squeezing and coughing should be confined to a handkerchief, and in fact, the individual should leave the work area when either is imminent. Employees should wash their hands after coughing, sneezing or blowing their nose.
10. Cloths should not be used for cleaning.
11. Foods that appear to be unwholesome, or that may contain unacceptable contaminants, should not be handled.
12. Liquid soap dispenser is more hygienic than a soap tablet which is used by everybody. These should be used when working with high risk food. Personal
Hygiene – basic practice to prevent bacterial contamination
