People are significant contributors and sources of bacteria, viruses and toxins that contaminate food, whether directly or indirectly. Laws and regulations exist to minimise the risks of these being passed on to food by carriers.
Legal requirements
The Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 state that anyone who works in the food business and handles food must follow the regulations and maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness.
Under these regulations, employees are required to notify their boss if they think they are suffering from a disease or afflicted with a wound that may, directly or indirectly, contaminate any food. A business found guilty of contravening this requirement may face a fine, imprisonment or both.
Washroom facilities
The Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 contain the rules on hygiene. The regulations state that employers must provide appropriate facilities for their employees to maintain adequate personal hygiene. In particular, this means washbasins and hand-dryers.
Employers must provide sufficient toilet facilities, detailed in the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
· There must be at least one single sex toilet for every 25 males in the business and another for every 25 females.
· The toilets can be unisex providing that they are in a separate room and the door can be locked from the inside.
· The toilets must not open directly onto a food room.
· The legal requirement is to only provide soap or detergent, but it is good practice to provide bactericidal detergents and hot and cold running water for the basins.
· Drying facilities must be hygienic. It is best not to provide towels that can be re-used by different people as these can harbour bacteria. Hand air dryers or disposable paper towels are better for hygiene.
· In addition, employers must provide adequate changing facilities for staff.
Personal hygiene standards
Every person working in a food handling area must maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness and wear suitable, clean and, where appropriate, protective clothing. This is a legal requirement of the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995.
In addition they must not smoke or spit in the food handling area or eat or drink while handling food.
The Food Standards Agency advises that people handling food should not wear nail varnish, jewellery or watches. However, a simple wedding band is permissible. In addition, food handlers should have short nails and clean hair, which is tied back and covered. Hands should be washed frequently in running water.
All food handlers must receive at least some basic training on the essentials of food hygiene. They should be required to wash their hands after using the toilet, handling raw foods or waste; before starting work; after every break; and after blowing their nose.
Notification of illness
Anybody employed in handling food should notify their supervisor if they are suffering from infected wounds or any skin, nose, throat, stomach or bowel trouble. All wounds and cuts should be dressed appropriately with water-resistant and visible dressings. In addition, all relevant persons should avoid excessive and unnecessary food handling.
Roy Tozer is a Partner in the Regulatory Group of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary UK LLP. roy.tozer@dlapiper.com
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