Safety briefing - personal hygiene and food

This briefing addresses the key risks and control measures associated with personal hygiene when working with food.

What’s covered?

The aim of this Safety Briefing - Personal Hygiene and Food is to ensure that all staff are fully aware of the potential risks from working with food.

Hazards and risks

The briefing identifies that personal hygiene is important to protect anyone consuming food. It also makes it clear that those involved in catering have a legal duty to ensure that staff maintain high standards of personal hygiene at all times.

Key points

Attendees must take note of the following key points:

• “Staff should be “fit for work” at all times. This means that they must not be suffering from, or carrying, an illness or disease that could cause a problem with food safety.
• Any member of staff who has diarrhoea and/or vomiting should report it to their manager immediately and either stay at home or go home straight away. Staff should also tell their manager if they have any cuts or sores.
• Staff who have had diarrhoea and/or vomiting should not return to work until they have had no symptoms for 48 hours.
• Cuts and sores should be completely covered with a brightly coloured waterproof dressing.
• If staff are not “fit for work”, move them out of food handling areas or send them home. Throw away any unwrapped foods they have handled.”