Personal Hygiene and Employee Health
These questions are practical: who may work, where, and what they must do first. Most violations trace to a sink, a glove, or a symptom that was never reported.
Handwashing
Wet hands with warm running water (about 100°F), apply soap, scrub 10–15 seconds (20 seconds total), rinse, and dry with a single-use towel. Wash before starting work, after the restroom, after raw animal food, after touching face, hair, or phone, after cleaning or handling garbage, and before putting on gloves.
Gloves and grooming
Gloves never replace handwashing and must be changed when torn or soiled, between tasks, after raw animal food, and at least every 4 hours on the same task. No bare-hand contact with RTE food; use utensils, deli tissue, or gloves. Nails short; no polish or artificial nails unless an intact glove is worn. No hand or arm jewelry except a plain band. Hair restrained; no eating or drinking in prep areas.
Employee health
Employees must report vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, infected wounds or boils, a Big 6 diagnosis, or exposure to one. Exclude for vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, and the Big 6. Restrict from RTE work for infected wounds on the hands. Norovirus and nontyphoidal Salmonella cases return 24 hours after symptoms resolve; STEC, Shigella, Typhi, and hepatitis A need medical clearance.
Worked example
A deli clerk says she had diarrhea last night but feels fine now. She is excluded, not restricted, and the manager documents the report. She returns 24 hours after symptoms end. A co-worker with a bandaged finger cut is restricted from RTE work but may wash dishes.
Traps
Sending home only employees with fever; letting a restricted worker portion RTE salad; using sanitizer instead of soap; wearing gloves over unwashed hands.