PERSONAL HYGIENE ISSUE: Illnesses and Infected Cuts

Ensuring that good personal hygiene is maintained is extremely crucial when working in a kitchen, due to the constant handling of food. One key aspect of maintaining a good personal hygiene is by ensuring that the food handler is free from an illness. All wounds, cuts and burns should be properly covered. By doing so, cross- contamination of pathogens from the handler to the food can be avoided, or vice versa.  Thus, this ensures that no customer or food handler suffers from a food-borne illness as a result of consuming the food. Certain pathogens are responsible for the food-borne illnesses if personal hygiene is not maintained. These are a few:

1.Staphylococcus aureus: Commonly found in skin surfaces, throat and nostrils of humans or animals.  These also produce toxins that are heat resistant, therefore cannot be killed through cooking.  These can also be found in prepared fresh foods such as salads, bakery products and unpasteurized drinks or dairy products

Staphylococcus aureus; Retrieved from:  http://www.homefoodsafety.org/vault/2499/web/images/Staphylococcus%20bacteria%20v_%20small.jpg

2. Norovirus: Transmitted through people who are infected. Therefore, foods, drinks and food surfaces can easily be contaminated by Norovirus. These are usually found in fresh produce, salads or any food or surface that is prepared or touched by a person who is ill. Norovirus is the main source of a common illness known as "stomach flu". 


Norovirus; Retrieved from: http://www.homefoodsafety.org/vault/2499/web/images/norovirus%20v_%20small.jpg

 Here are a few tips for food handlers to ensure that good personal hygiene is maintained during the preparation of food.

1.       Always wear a mask if you are having a flu, coughing, or sneezing. It is recommended that you do not come for work if you are having a flu.  The mask being worn must cover your nose and your mouth. This can be seen below.  

2.    All wounds and cuts in the hands, or any other parts of the body must be covered with a plaster. The colour of the plaster should be of a bright one, as a nude beige coloured plaster cannot be easily identified. This acts as a safety measure as during food preparation or food handling, the plaster may fall into the food being consumed/prepared. Hence, through this perspective, a bright plaster should be worn so that it can be easily identified in the food. In a commercial kitchen, blue plasters are usually used. 

3.        All infected wounds and cuts in the hands must be covered with a plaster, then followed by a glove when handling food. This is to ensure that no contamination of the pathogens above occurs in the food. 

By: Subash S/O Rethina Kumar ( 1400090E)

References:
1. Retrieved from: http://www.homefoodsafety.org/food-poisoning/foodborne-pathogens