Personal Hygiene and Staff Health
Hand hygiene
Handwashing is the single most important control. Use soap and running potable water for at least 20 seconds, including backs of hands, between fingers, thumbs and nails; dry with disposable towels. Wash before starting work, after the toilet, after handling raw food, after waste, after touching the face or phone, and after cleaning. Alcohol sanitizer is not a substitute for handwashing when hands are soiled or after toilet use.
Health and exclusion
Food handlers must report vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, jaundice, infected wounds, skin lesions and discharges. Exclude anyone with vomiting or diarrhoea until 48 hours symptom-free; follow medical advice for typhoid, hepatitis A or E. coli O157. Cover wounds with a waterproof, detectable blue dressing and, where needed, a glove.
Dress and conduct
Wear clean protective clothing, a hair restraint and clean footwear. Remove jewellery, nail polish and false nails; do not smoke, eat, drink or chew in food areas. Training should be documented and refreshed.
Worked example
A food handler has diarrhoea at home and asks to work. Reasoning: exclude them, record the report, require 48 hours symptom-free, and check whether they are a returning traveller or have a household case. Do not accept a just-one-shift exception for a high-risk ready-to-eat role.
Traps
Using sanitizer instead of washing; returning immediately after symptoms stop; wearing a glove over a dressed wound without cleaning; sharing aprons.