ServSafe Food Managers Certification Notes: The Safe Food Handler

At every step in the flow of food, food handlers can contaminate food. They might not even realize it when they do it. Something as simple as touching the face while prepping a salad could make a customer sick. Even a food handler who appears to be healthy may spread foodborne pathogens. As a manager, you need to know the many ways food handlers can contaminate food.

Situations that can lead to contaminating food
Food handlers can contaminate food in any of the following situations:
-  When they have a foodborne illness.
-  When they have wounds or boils that contain a pathogen.
-  When sneezing or coughing.
-  When they have contact with a person who is ill
-  When they use the restroom and do not wash their hands
-  When they have symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, or jaundice.

Actions that can contaminate food
To avoid causing a foodborne illness, pay close attention to what you do with your hands. Some actions to avoid:
- Scratching the scalp
- Running fingers through the air
- Wiping or touching the nose
- Rubbing an ear
- Touching a pimple or an infected wound/boil
- Wearing and touching dirty uniform
- Coughing or sneezing into the hand
- Spitting in the operation
Some people carry pathogens and infect others without ever getting sick themselves. These people are called carries.

Managing a personal hygiene program
To keep food handlers from contaminating food, your operation needs a good personal hygiene program.
Some things to support a personal hygiene program include:
- Creating personal hygiene policies.
- Training food handlers on those policies and retraining them regularly.
- Modeling the correct behavior at all times (lead by example).
- Supervising food safety practices at all times.
- Revising personal hygiene policies when laws or science change.

Handwashing and hand care
Proper handwashing and hand care are critical to preventing the spread of pathogen.
Handwashing is the most important part of personal hygiene. And many food handlers do not wash their hands correctly or as often as they should. You must train your food handlers to wash their hands, and then you must monitor them.

Where to wash hands
Hands must be washed in a sink designated for handwashing.
Monitor food handlers to make sure they do this. They should NEVER wash their hands in sinks designated for food prep or dishwashing or sinks used for discarding waste water.

When to wash Hands
Food handlers must wash their hands before preparing food or working with clean equipment and utensils. They must also wash their hands before putting on single-use gloves. Also after the following activities:
-  Using the restroom.
-  Touching the body or clothing.
-  Coughing, sneezing, blowing nose, or using a handkerchief or tissue.
-  Eating, drinking, smoking, or chewing gun or tobacco.
-  Handling soiled items.
-  Handling war meat, seafood, or poultry.
-  Taking out garbage.
-  Handling service animals or aquatic animals.
-  Handling chemicals that might affect food safety.
-  Changing task (before beginning new task).
-  Leaving and returning to the kitchen/prep area.
-  Handling money.
-  Using electronic devices (like cellphones).
-  Touching anything else that may contaminate hands, such as dirty equipment, work surfaces, or cloths.

Corrective Action
If you see food handlers who are not following proper handwashing procedures, correct the situation immediately.
If they have touch food or food-contact surfaces with unclean hands:

1. Dispose of the contaminated food
2. Clean potentially contaminated equipment and utensils
3. Retrain or coach food handlers who are or following proper handwashing procedures if necessary.

Hand antiseptics
Hand antiseptics, also called hand sanitizers, are liquids or gels that are used to lower the number of pathogens on skin. If used, they must comply with the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards.
Only use hand antiseptics after handwashing. NEVER use them in place of it. Wait for a hand antiseptic to dry before you touch food or equipment.

Hand care
In addition to washing, hands need other care to prevent spreading pathogens.

Fingernail length
Keep fingernail short and clean. Long fingernails may be hard to keep clean and can rip gloves. They can also chip and become physical contaminates.

False fingernails
Do NOT wear false fingernails. They can be hard to keep clean. False fingernails also can break off into food. However, false fingernails can be worn if the food handler wear single- use gloves.

Nail polish
Do NOT wear nail polish. It can disguise dirt under nails and may flake off into food.
However, nail polish can be worn if the food handler wears single-use gloves.

Infected wounds or boils
Infected wounds, cuts and boils contain pus. They must be covered if they are open or draining to prevent pathogens from contaminating food and food-contact surfaces. How and infected wound o boil is cover depends on where it is located.
Located on the hand Then cover it with an impermeable cover like a finger cot. Impermeable means that liquid cannot pass through the cover. Examples include bandages and finger cots.
Place a single-use glove over the cover.

Located on the arm
Then cover it with an impermeable cover, such as a bandage. The wound must be completely covered.

Located on another part of the body
Then cover it with a dry, durable tight-fitting bandage.

Single-use gloves
Single-use gloves must be worn when handling ready-to-eat food. Wash hands before putting on gloves. Wear the right size glove. Avoid touching the gloves when you put them on. Change your gloves when they are dirty or torn; before starting a new task; after an interruption in your task; after handling raw meat, seafood, or poultry and before handling ready-to-eat food and after four hours of continuous use.
NEVER wash and reuse gloves.
NEVER blow into gloves.
NEVER roll gloves to make them easier to put on.
NEVER handle ready-to-eat food with bare hands if primarily serve a high-risk population.

However, there may be exceptions. It may be acceptable to handle ready-to-eat food with bare hands in these situations:
- The food will be added as an ingredient to a dish that does not contain raw meat, seafood, or poultry, but will be cooked to at least 145F. For example, adding cheese to pizza dough.
- The food will be added as an ingredient to a dish containing raw meat, seafood, or poultry, and the dish will be cooked to the required minimum temperature of the raw items. For example, adding salt and pepper to raw duck breast.

Personal Hygiene Practices
Wearing dirty clothes or neglecting to shower probably will not go over well with your guests. But there are real food safety concerns, too. Keeping food safe means paying attention to personal hygiene. The entire staff needs to know the basics.

Personal Cleanliness
Pathogens can be found on hair and skin. There is a greater risk of these pathogens being transferred to food and food equipment if the food handler does not follow a personal hygiene program. Make sure food handlers shower or bathe before work.

Work Attire
Food handlers in dirty clothes may carry pathogens that can cause foodborne illness. These pathogens can be transferred from the clothing to the hands and to the food being prepared.

1. Set up a dress code, and make sure all staff follows it.
2. Eating, drinking, smoking, and chewing gum or tobacco
3. Small droplets of saliva can contain thousands of pathogens. In the process of eating, drinking, smoking, or chewing gum or tobacco, saliva can be transferred to hands or directly to food being handled.
4. To prevent this, employees should only eat, drink, smoke, and chew gum or tobacco in designated areas.

NEVER do these things when:
- Prepping or serving food
- Working in pre areas
- Working in areas used to clean utensils and equipment
Employees can drink from a covered container if they handle the container carefully to prevent contamination of their hands, the container, and exposed food, utensils, and equipment. A correctly covered container will include a lid with a straw, or a sip-lid top.

Work attire guidelines

1. Hair restraints
2. Wear a clean hat or other hair restraint when in food-prep area.
3. Do NOT wear hair accessories that could become physical contaminants.
4. Do NOT wear false eyelashes.
5. Food handler with facial hair should also wear a beard restraint.
6. Clean clothing
7. Wear clean clothing daily
8. Change soiled uniforms, including apron, as needed to prevent contamination
9. If possible, change into work clothes at work
10. Store street clothing and personal belongings in designated areas.
11. Keep dirty clothing that is store in the operation away from food and prep areas.

Aprons
Remove when leaving prep areas, for example before taking out garbage or using the restroom.
NEVER wipe your hands on your apron.

Jewelry
Remove jewelry from hands and arms before prepping food or when working around prep areas.
Food handlers cannot wear any of the following: rings, bracelets and watches.

Policies for reporting health issues
Staff must report health problems to managements before working with food. Managers should also watch for staff illnesses. Food handlers must be excluded from work if they are vomiting or have diarrhea and have been diagnosed with a foodborne illness from certain pathogens, such as nontyphoidal Salmonella. Food handlers also must not come to work if they have symptoms that included diarrhea, vomiting of jaundice. Staff who has persistent sneezing, coughing, or a runny nose or a sore throat and a fever should not work with exposed food, utensils, or equipment.

How to handle medical conditions
If - Then

The food handler has an infected wound or boil that is not properly covered.
Restrict the food handler from working with exposed food, utensils, and equipment

The food handler has a sore throat with a fever
Restrict the food handler from working with exposed food, utensils, and equipment
Exclude the food handler from the operation if you primarily serve a high-risk population

The food handler has persistent sneezing, coughing, or a runny nose that causes discharges from the eyes, nose or, mouth
Restrict the food handler from working with exposed food, utensils, and equipment

The food handler has at least one of these symptoms from an infectious condition:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Jaundice
Exclude the food handler from the operation

Vomiting and diarrhea
Food handlers must meet one of these requirements before they can return to work:
- Have had no symptoms for at least 24 hours
- Have a written release from a medical practitioner

Jaundice
Food handlers with jaundice must be reported to the regulatory authority. Food handlers who have had jaundice for seven days or less must be excluded from the operation.
Food handlers must have a written release from a medical practitioner and approval from the regulatory authority before returning to work.

The food handler is vomiting or has diarrhea and has been diagnosed with an illness caused by one of these pathogens:
- Norovirus
- Shigella spp
- Nontyphoidal Salmonella
- Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC)
- Hepatitis A
- Salmonella Thyphi

Exclude the food handler from the operation
Report the situation to the regulatory authority.

Some food handlers diagnosed with an illness may not experience symptoms, or their symptoms may have ended. Work with the medical practitioner and the local regulatory authority to determine whether the food handlers must be excluded from the operation or restricted from working with exposed food, utensils, and equipment.
The medical practitioner and regulatory authority will also determine when the employees can safely return to the operation and/or carry out their regular food handling duties.