People are significant sources of bacteria, viruses and toxins that can easily contaminate food, either directly or indirectly. However, there are laws and regulations to minimise the risks of these being passed on to food by their carriers.
Legal requirements
The Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 say 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 need 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 rule could face a fine, imprisonment or even both. (See the article on food poisoning for possible penalties.)
Washroom facilities
The Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 set out hygiene rules. This states 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 it is in a separate room and the door can be locked from the inside
- The toilets must not open directly into a food room
- The legal requirement is to provide soap or detergent, but it is good practice to also provide bactericidal detergents and hot- and cold-running water for the basins
- Drying facilities must be hygienic. It’s best not to use towels that can be re-used by different people as these can harbour bacteria. Hand air dryers or disposable paper towels are best
- In addition, employers must provide adequate changing facilities.
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 and must not eat or drink while handling food.
The Food Standards Agency advises that anybody handling food should not wear nail varnish, jewellery or watches. However, a simple wedding band is permissible. In addition these persons should have short nails and clean hair, which is tied back and covered. Hands shoulbe 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 told to wash their hands after using the toilet, before and after handling raw foods or waste, before starting work, after every break and after blowing their noses.
Notification of illness
Anybody employed 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.
by Charles Arrand
Charles Arrand is an associate at the regulatory group at law firm DLA.
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