People are the most common way germs get into food. Good hygiene is the cheapest food safety there is.
Key idea
Wash hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water, scrubbing backs, between fingers and under nails, then dry with a single-use towel or air dryer. Wash before starting work, after the restroom, after handling raw meat, poultry or seafood, after touching your face, hair, phone, money or trash, after cleaning, and before putting on gloves. Gloves are for ready-to-eat food; change them when they tear, when you switch tasks, and after raw meat.
- Keep fingernails short and clean; cover cuts with a bandage and a glove.
- Hair restrained (hat or net); clean clothes and apron.
- No eating, drinking or smoking where food is prepared; a covered drink with a straw may be allowed away from food.
- Under the Food Code, workers with vomiting or diarrhea stay away from food work; illnesses such as norovirus spread easily through food.
Why it works
Bare hands should not touch ready-to-eat food in a restaurant under the Food Code: use gloves, tongs or deli paper. Gloves stop germs only until they touch something dirty.
Worked example: Change gloves?
You wore gloves to portion raw chicken. Now you need to plate a salad.
- Raw chicken contaminated the gloves.
- Remove them, wash hands, then put on new gloves.
Answer: Yes: take them off, wash your hands, new gloves.
Common mistake
Thinking gloves replace handwashing. Dirty hands make dirty gloves.
Practice at home
- Time your handwashing with a clock: 20 seconds is longer than it feels. Hum a short tune twice.
- Put a little cinnamon or flour on your hands, wash quickly, and look for what you missed.