Hand and Personal Hygiene

and Food Safety

It’s Everyone’s Business

Training Module 2

Nutrition and Dietetic Health Improvement Team, NHS Forth Valley

Promote and Practice Effective Hand Washing

All individuals working with food MUST be aware of how and when to wash their hands effectively.

Effective hand washing is essential to help prevent bacteria and viruses including the spread of Covid-19.

Hand Wash Regularly

Use this technique every time!

Scrub your hands for at least

20 seconds.

How to wash your hands effectively

Wash your hands with liquid soap and warm, running water regularly – scrub for at least 20 seconds – that’s the same as singing Happy Birthday twice.

Use an alcohol-based hand rub or sanitizing hand gel if soap and water are not available, for example when delivering food. When preparing food, it can be used after washing hands.

Wash hands as soon as you arrive into your place of work and when you get back home. Also before you go to public places such as the supermarket and when you get home.

Wash hands thoroughly before and after preparing or cooking food, after going to the toilet and after you cough or sneeze.

Cover your mouth and nose with a disposable tissue when you sneeze, cough, wipe or blow your nose. If you don’t have a tissue, cough and sneeze into the bend of your elbow. Don’t use your hands!

Place used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards.

Don’t

Do

X Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed, unclean hands.

When to wash your hands

MAKE SURE EVERYONE

UNDERTAKES EFFECTIVE HAND

WASHING TECHNIQUES EVERY TIME.

BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER

HANDLING OR PREPARING

FOODS.

WHEN YOU ARRIVE HOME

FROM WORK OR A SHOPPING

TRIP.

SHOPPING TROLLIES,

HANDLES OF BASKETS AND

CARD MACHINES HAVE THE

POTENTIAL TO CARRY

INFECTION.

AFTER USING COMPUTERS,

PHONES, TOUCHING DOOR OR WINDOW

HANDLES AND OTHER HARD

SURFACES

EG WORKTOPS, COOKERS OR

DESKS

AFTER TOUCHING YOUR FACE, BLOWING

YOUR NOSE, COUGHING OR

SNEEZING.

AFTER USING THE TOILET OR

VISITING PUBLIC PLACES.

AFTER TOUCHING

ANIMALS, PET FOOD OR

ANIMAL WASTE.

Ways to promote hand hygiene

• Make sure staff and volunteers have access to places where they can wash their hands with soap and water. Ensure plenty liquid soap is available and an adequate supply of disposable paper towels.

• Ensure all staff and volunteers have been trained in effective handwashing techniques and that measures are put in place to monitor handwashing at key points and regular intervals on food production lines or in community kitchens.

• Place sanitizing hand gel dispensers and tissues or paper towels in prominent places around your workplace – at every entrance and exit to - food production, storage or work areas, community kitchens, food banks/larders, church halls etc….Make sure staff, volunteers and visitors wash their hands frequently.

• Display posters to promote hand washing and step by step guides on how to wash hands properly – Display posters above sinks, on display boards in kitchen areas, on doors entering and leaving the premises and on toilet doors.

Should I wear disposable gloves?

• Think twice about using disposable gloves – they should never be used as a replacement for effective hand washing!

• If you do use disposable gloves make sure you wash your hands thoroughly before putting them on and again when taking them off.

• And always change them regularly , especially between handling raw food and ready to eat foods.

• If they become damaged or ripped dispose of them immediately.

To staff, volunteers and service users

If you wear gloves they need changed as often as hands need to be washed

Handwashing

This Food Standards Agency video illustrates how to

wash your hands properly, to help stop bacteria and harmful viruses such as Coronavirus spreading.

Hand hygiene is the most important factor in preventing the spread of

Covid19 and other infections.

Always wash hands thoroughly before, during and after handling food.

Wear clean clothes when working with food. As a minimum, wear a clean apron or a disposable apron when handling open food – this is to protect the food from any contamination from your clothes.

If preparing and cooking meals its preferable to change into clean work clothes before starting work and wear these clothes only within food preparation areas.

Keep hair tied back and wear a hat when preparing food. Men should wear a beard net.

Fingernails should be kept short and clean – avoid wearing nail polish or false nails.

Do not smoke, drink or eat while handling food.

All wounds and cuts must be covered completely with a brightly coloured waterproof dressing.

Staff should be ‘fit for work’ at ALL times – if unwell staff and volunteers MUST stay at home and follow the governments guidance on self – isolation. Any illnesses MUST be reported to the line manager or person in charge. Food handlers who have had diarrhoea and / or vomiting should not return to work until they have had NO symptoms for 48 hours.

Personal Hygiene Measures For staff and volunteers working with food

Test your knowledge

Handwashing

• 5 seconds

• 10 seconds

• 20 seconds

• 30 seconds

• 40 seconds

Question 1 What is the minimum time you should wash your hands for?

Handwashing

• Cold and Flu

• Salmonella

• Sickness and Diarrhoea

• Coronavirus

• All of the above

Question 2 What infections can you get from poor hand washing?

Handwashing

Question 3 Who might be at risk as a result of you not washing your hands properly?

• You

• Your family and friends

• Your work colleagues

• People you are delivering or cooking for

• All of the above

Handwashing

Question 4 What is the main purpose of hand hygiene and hand washing?

• To reduce micro-organisms (germs) on the hands

• To keep skin healthy

• To prevent the spread of infection

• All of the above

Question 5 Think about your job or role if you are volunteering?

Consider how you would apply hand hygiene at your workplace or at home…..

Is there anything that is stopping you from washing your hands at the correct times?…..

Discuss with your

colleagues and your line

manager

Food Standards Agency Hand Washing Leaflet www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/document/handwashing.pdf

Personal Hygiene and Fitness To Work Leaflet www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/document/sfbb-cross-con-01-personal-hygiene_1.pdf

CookSafe Personal Hygiene Rules Guidance www.foodstandards.gov.scot/downloads/CookSafe_-_House_rules_-_Personal_hygiene_-_Guidance.pdf

Food Handlers Fitness To Work www.foodstandards.gov.scot/downloads/Food_handlers_-_Fitness_to_work_v6_-_Final_-_December_2019.pdf

Food Standards Scotland - Online Education Resources Learn about the importance of washing your hands correctly and the reasons why.

Happy Hands –www.foodstandards.gov.scot/education-resources/happy-hands

Germ Outbreak - www.foodstandards.gov.scot/education-resources/germ-outbreak

Hand Washing and Personal Hygiene Resources

Acknowledgements and thanks to staff from Food & Safety Team at Falkirk Council…

This Food Safety Training Package

was developed by

NHS Forth Valley

Nutrition and Dietetic Health Improvement Team

Community Nutrition

www.nhsforthvalley.com/nutrition