The pastry chef with a 24-hour bug and a weeping cut
At 22:00 on Sunday a pastry chef at a St Julian's hotel bakery develops vomiting and watery diarrhoea. By 06:00 on Monday she has had no further symptoms and feels well. She telephones the head chef, who tells her to come in because a 300-cover conference lunch requires 120 ricotta pastries and 80 ftira by 12:00. She also has a small weeping cut on her right index finger from a tin lid; it is covered with a fabric plaster. The staff toilet handwash basin has running water and soap, but the paper towels ran out on Saturday. The chef has worked at the hotel for six years and has a valid food handling certificate. She says she 'only had a 24-hour bug' and offers to wear gloves. The head chef says gloves are enough and that no one else can cover the shift.
1. Should the pastry chef be allowed to handle food on Monday? Justify your answer using exclusion guidance and the details given.
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No. She should not handle food on Monday.
The standard food-handler guidance is to exclude staff from food handling until 48 hours after the last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting. Her last episode was at 22:00 on Sunday, so she should not return to food handling until Wednesday at the earliest. The fact that she feels well on Monday does not mean she is not still shedding organisms; some people remain infectious after symptoms stop, and a '24-hour bug' cannot be diagnosed by the person themselves.
Why the certificate and experience do not help. A food handling certificate shows training, not current fitness to work. The head chef's staffing problem is not a lawful or safe reason to bring her back early. Pressure from a 300-cover lunch does not change the risk to guests.
The cut adds a second reason. A weeping cut on the hand is a potential source of Staphylococcus aureus and other organisms. A fabric plaster is not waterproof, can become wet and contaminated, and can fall into food. If the wound cannot be completely covered with a waterproof, detectable plaster, she should not handle food. Even with a plaster, she should not handle RTE food with that hand where avoidable.
Correct decision. Exclude her from food handling until 48 hours after the last symptom. If her symptoms were part of a known outbreak or she has a diagnosed infection, longer exclusion and medical clearance may be required. Arrange agency or overtime cover instead.
2. What should happen about the cut finger and the missing paper towels?
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The cut. The wound should be cleaned and covered with a waterproof, detectable blue plaster. If it is weeping and cannot be fully covered, or if the plaster cannot stay in place, the chef must be given non-food duties or sent home. A fabric plaster is not acceptable in a food area because it is not waterproof and is hard to see if it falls out. If a glove is worn over the plaster, it is an extra barrier, not a substitute for the plaster; gloves can tear and hands can become warm and sweaty, encouraging bacterial growth. Handwashing remains essential before and after glove use.
The paper towels. The handwash basin is not properly equipped without a means of hand drying. Running water and soap alone are insufficient: wet hands transfer organisms more readily, and staff may dry hands on aprons or cloths. Paper towels must be replaced immediately. Until they are, the basin should be treated as out of order for food handlers, and alternative hand drying (for example, a working hot-air dryer or a clean, disposable supply) must be provided.
Wider check. The head chef should check all handwash basins in the bakery and staff toilet for soap, towels and running water. This should be part of the opening checklist. The missing towels are a sign that the hand hygiene infrastructure is not being monitored.
3. If the head chef insists she works, what should the chef do and what duties (if any) could she safely perform?
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What she should do. She should refuse to handle food and explain, calmly and specifically, that guidance excludes food handlers for 48 hours after the last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting. If the head chef continues to insist, she should escalate the matter to the person responsible for food safety or the manager on duty, and record the conversation. She should not allow herself to be put in a position where she contaminates food.
What duties could be safe. She must not enter the food preparation area while she may still be infectious, and she must not handle RTE food, food-contact surfaces or clean equipment. Non-food duties could include office work, stock-taking from sealed packaging, answering the telephone, or training administration away from the kitchen. These must not involve handling open food, crockery, cutlery or cleaning cloths used in food areas.
Gloves are not a solution. Gloves do not prevent transmission from a person who is still shedding organisms; they can give a false sense of security and are often worn for too long. The risk is not only from hands but from the whole person in a food area.
Record and review. The incident should be recorded in the staffing/absence log, and the head chef should be reminded of the business's fitness-to-work policy. If the business has no such policy, one should be written and communicated to all staff so that the next case is handled consistently.