The Do's and Don'ts

Hands must be properly washed to remove food, dirt and microbes. Hand-washing is to cleanse the hands of pathogens and chemicals which can cause personal harm or disease. public. People can become infected with respiratory illnesses such as influenza if they don't wash their hands before touching their eyes, nose or mouth.

Aprons must be clean to prevent the transfer of harmful microbes to hands, surfaces and food. Dirty uniforms and aprons can allow the transfer of harmful microbes to hands and food, so be sure to avoid wiping your hands on them and keep them clean.

Nails should be short and neatly trimmed to allow for easy cleaning. Long nails can trap dirt and make them difficult to clean, thus harboring illness-causing microorganisms that can be transferred to food.

Hair needs to be tied back and covered with a proper hair restraint. A clean hat, cap or other hair restraint will prevent hair from falling into food and will help discourage food handlers from touching their hair and faces.

Shower or bathe daily to promote cleanliness and prevent odour, disease and infecton that can cause contamination to food.

Jewelry, particularly items worn on hands and arms, need to be removed prior to working to allow for proper handwashing as they can fall into food and be a barrier to proper handwashing, so leave the bling at home.

Ensure that the hat is clean, this is to prevent the transfer of harmful bacteria to food from you rhands if you were to adjust or touches the hat.

Ensure that a new pair of gloves is used before each new food handling task. Do not reuse single-use gloves—they’re designed to be used for one food handling task and then discarded. Don’t forget to wash hands before putting on a new pair of gloves.

Cuts or burns on the hands or arms are a potential source of harmful microorganisms and need to be covered by a bandage, which then must be covered by a single-use glove to prevent the bandage from falling off into food.

Don’t allow food handlers to work while sick. Remind food handlers to report symptoms of sore throat with fever, vomiting, diarrhea and jaundice caused by an infectious disease. This is to prevent possibilities of contamination and the transfer of the diseases to the consumers.

Do not smoke while handling food even though the smoke and ash from the cigarette are harmless but smokers contaminate their fingers with saliva when taking the cigarette from their lips.