Requirements for Food Handlers
Who counts as a food handler
A food handler is anyone who handles or prepares food, or comes into contact with food-contact surfaces or utensils, in a food establishment. This includes kitchen crew, service staff plating food, dishwashers handling clean crockery, and staff who portion or pack food. It does not include a purely administrative worker who never touches food or food-contact items.
Core obligations
Every food handler must be registered with SFA and hold a valid Food Handler Certificate, obtained by passing an approved food safety course and then renewed periodically (commonly every five years, with refresher training required on renewal). Handlers must also be medically fit: they cannot work if suffering from a foodborne illness, and must declare symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, sore throat, jaundice or infected skin lesions. A handler with such symptoms is excluded from food handling until cleared.
Hygiene practices examiners test
Correct handwashing (before work, after toilet use, after handling raw food, after waste handling), no bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food, clean and appropriate attire including head covering, short clean nails, no jewellery on hands, and no eating, drinking or smoking in food preparation areas. Coughing and sneezing must be away from food and followed by handwashing.
Traps
Questions often blur reporting versus excluding: the handler must report symptoms, and the operator must exclude them from food duties. Another trap is confusing the Food Handler Certificate with the Hygiene Officer course - handlers do not need the higher qualification. Also watch for the distractor that a handler may return to work as soon as symptoms ease; clearance requirements must be met first.
Rule of thumb
If a handler is unwell with gastrointestinal or skin symptoms, the default answer is: report, exclude from food handling, seek medical advice, return only when cleared.