Health and Environmental Services Information Sheet 22

Health and Hygiene for Food Handlers

The Food Safety Standards contain requirements that apply to food handlers to ensure that all food handlers take steps to avoid contaminating food. A food handler is anyone who handles food or items that may come into contact with food, such as eating and drinking utensils. All food handlers are legally obliged to comply with the health and hygiene requirements set out in the Food Safety Standards

Health Requirements

If you are ill or have an infection you can easily transfer harmful bacteria or viruses to food.

Do not handle food if:

you are ill with vomiting, diarrhoea, fever or sore throat with fever;
your doctor has diagnosed that you have or carry a food-borne illness.

If you have:

infected sores on your hands, arm or face; or
any discharges from your ears, noise or eyes (such as a cold),

you can continue to handle food provided that you take extra precautions to prevent food being contaminated. For example, cover the skin sore or take medication to dry up the discharge.

Hygiene Requirements

Each food handler must take all precautions to ensure that food or surfaces that come in contact with food are not contaminated by their body, or anything they are wearing. This includes hair, saliva, mucus, sweat, blood, fingernails, clothes, jewellery or bandages.

You are required to:

avoid handling ready to eat food such as salads and cooked foods. Use tongs or other implements instead;
wear clean outer clothing;
make sure bandages and dressings on exposed parts of the body (hands, arm, face) are covered with waterproof coverings;
not eat over uncovered food or equipment and utensils;
not sneeze, blow, cough over uncovered food or equipment and utensils; and
not spit or smoke where food is handled;

Hand washing

The most important measure to protect food from contamination is proper hand washing because clean and dry hands limit the transfer of harmful organisms to food. The Food Safety Standards require food handlers to wash their hands whenever hands are likely to be a source of contamination including:

Before handling food;
Between handling raw food and food that is ready to eat, such as cooked food and salads;
After using the toilet;
After smoking, coughing, sneezing, blowing the noise, eating or drinking;
After touching hair, scalp, mouth, noise or ear canal, and
After handling rubbish and other waste;
After using cleaning cloths and equipment.

There are five (5) steps that should be followed when washing hands. These are;

Wet hands with warm running water;
Soap hands, lathering well;
Rub thoroughly, including the wrists and between fingers;
Rinse in clean water; and
Dry thoroughly on paper towel, leaving no moisture on the hands.

Should you need any further advice, please contact one of the Town's Environmental Health Officer on 9377 8000.

See more information sheets >>>