Vomiting Clerk, Bandaged Hand, and a Blocked Sink
It is 6:40 a.m. at a grocery store deli. The opening clerk tells you that co-worker Dana vomited twice at home overnight and has just arrived for her 8-hour shift wearing her uniform. Dana says she feels fine now and has no fever; the deli is already short one person and the lunch rush is expected to be heavy. A second employee, Luis, shows you a 2 cm cut on his index finger that he covered with a cloth bandage and a single-use glove; he has been slicing ham and then moved to the salad bar to restock tongs. The only handwashing sink in the deli has a stack of empty bread trays in front of it, and the paper-towel dispenser is empty. The manager on duty asks you to just get through the shift.
1. May Dana work today? Explain the exclusion and return-to-work criteria you apply.
Read the worked answer
Dana should not work with food, utensils, or clean linens today. Vomiting within the past 24 hours is a symptom of a foodborne illness, and the cause is unknown. Under the Food Code approach, exclude her from food handling until she has been free of vomiting and diarrhea for at least 24 hours. If she is later diagnosed with norovirus, the exclusion extends to 48 hours after symptoms cease; for Salmonella Typhi, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or hepatitis A she needs medical clearance and, for some, negative stool tests. Feeling fine now does not override two episodes overnight. Reassignment to a non-food task is possible only if she will not touch exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, or linens; given the deli staffing, sending her home is cleaner. Record the decision and the return-to-work criteria so the next manager applies the same rule.
2. Evaluate Luis's wound coverage and glove use. What corrections are needed?
Read the worked answer
Luis's cloth bandage is not an impermeable cover, and a single-use glove over a cloth bandage is not enough if the wound is draining. Correct him: wash hands, apply a waterproof bandage, cover with a single-use glove, and restrict him from bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food. A glove is not a substitute for handwashing, and he must change the glove after touching utensils, money, or his face. He should not restock tongs by hand if the glove may have contacted the wound; use a clean utensil or clean and sanitize the tongs. If the cut is infected, swollen, or draining, he must be excluded until it is healed or covered under medical advice. Document the reassignment and check the wound covering at the start of each shift.
3. What must be fixed at the handwashing sink before opening, and what does the manager's instruction reveal?
Read the worked answer
Before opening, clear the bread trays from in front of the handwashing sink and restock paper towels and soap. The sink must be accessible at all times and used only for handwashing. Post a handwashing sign, check that the water is about 100°F, and make sure a waste container is available. Then verify that every employee who enters the deli washes hands before gloving and after handling raw food, using the restroom, or touching the face. The manager's instruction to just get through the shift is the real hazard: it normalizes both an ill worker and a blocked sink. The corrective action is a pre-shift checklist covering sink access, supplies, employee health, and wound coverage, signed by the person in charge.