Tips for personal hygiene
Nails - must be kept short and clean with no nail varnish. False nails should not be worn as they may fall off and physically contaminate the food.
Hair - head covering should be applied prior to any other protective clothing to avoid hair and dandruff dropping onto clean clothing. Food handlers must not comb or touch their hair in food processing areas as hair could physically contaminate the food.
Jewellery - Food handlers should not wear any form of jewellery when preparing food as it could have dirt and bacteria on it which could contaminate the food. If the jewellery falls into the food it would also physically contaminate it. The jewellery could also get trapped in equipment or machinery causing harm to the food handler.
Strong smelling scents - Food handlers should avoid using strong smelling deodorants, perfumes, aftershaves and soaps as they may taint the flavour of the food and contaminate it.
As seen before, the following bacteria are usually found on our body.
Staphylococus aureus -Found in our hands, hair, nose, mouth, ears, throat, in septic cuts, spots and boils
Clostridium perfringens -Found in our intestines
E Coli - Found in our intestines
Salmonella -Found in our intestines
How do bacteria gets transferred from humans to food?
- Pathogenic bacteria are found in faeces, urine, hair, nose, boils, cuts etc.
- Hands may come in contact with faecal matter when using toilets.
- Bacteria can be transferred onto food after sneezing, coughing or blowing into food