Those working in food and meat processing businesses know that well-planned working routines may assure a better cleaning standard during processing.
Adequate personal hygiene assures the overall cleaning process. Deterioration of the cleaning standard may occur if microorganisms are transmitted to well-cleaned surfaces from unwashed hands before processing starts.
Neither process hygiene, personal hygiene nor cleaning and sanitation alone can assure a sufficient hygienic standard but together, if carried out in an optimal manner, they will guarantee a complete hygienic standard.
Personal Hygiene
Personal hygiene will usually be the main element in the term “hygiene”; the reason being obvious. Bacteria causing diseases or spoilage may be carried and transmitted to surfaces and food by workers handling the food products.
Hand-washing
Careful and frequent hand-washing will do much to reduce contamination. Therefore hand-washing facilities must be sufficient if the water supply is adequate.
Basically there should be two sites where the staff can wash their hands – the rest room and the working area where sufficient handwashing facilities must be placed close to the working places. If the hand-washing facilities are situated in particular areas away from working places, there is a great risk that they will not be used.
It must be impressed on the staff that hand-washing must be done:
- before work starts
- after using the toilets
- after touching dirty objects and materials
- after smoking and eating
It must be impressed on the staff that hands will be contaminated if used for scratching the skin or the hair, correcting clothes and picking the nose. Bacteria may be transmitted to the hands by these acts and thereafter transmitted to food which is handled by hand.
Special guidelines concerning hand-washing must be followed. The management of facilities or the authorities may require the use of a special bacteriostatic soap or dipping of the hands after washing in a germicidal rinse etc. Use of a nail brush is recommended because bacteria often hide along and under the nails.
Working Clothes
The clothing of workers must be clean. The purpose is not to protect the worker against contamination but to protect the meat/food against contamination. Working clothes must be used exclusively in the working area and nowhere else. If possible, it is advisable to avoid admittance from the unclean area to the clean area without changing clothes. Working routines should be planned in a way that the staff works either in the clean area or in the unclean area. The staff may go from clean to unclean work but never in the opposite direction, except when they have changed working clothes and washed hands.
Working clothes should be comfortable and easy to wash. Their design should encourage good hygiene habits. Light coloured working clothes show the need for cleaning earlier than dark coloured working clothes.
Working clothes should be free of loose adornments (buttons, sequins etc.). During work jewellery, wrist-watches etc. are prohibited as these objects may be sources for contamination and make hand-washing difficult.
Arrangements for storage of aprons and tools should be available outside toilets and rest rooms.
Hair Covering
Human hair and beards are normally heavily contaminated with bacteria and to prevent contamination of food a hair or beard covering in the process area is a necessary part of the working clothes.
Many different types of hair coverings are seen in the food industry. It is important that the hair is completely covered and that the covering is clean. Disposable or washable hair and beard coverings are recommended.
Gloves
If the use of gloves is indicated they must be kept in the same good hygienic conditions as hands, otherwise it is better to avoid their use. Gloves may be of rubber or plastic and they are used to protect the meat/food against contamination. They may also be used to protect the hands against knife cuts and will then be made of steel. Great care should be taken to keep a certain hygienic standard of these gloves.
Health
Good health is important for workers in the food processing industry. Ill persons will often be carriers of more microorganisms (pathogenic microorganisms) than is usually the case. These microorganisms may then be transmitted to the food with the risk of causing disease to the consumers. Illness must always be reported to the manager and/or the inspector of the facility who will decide if the worker can stay or has to leave.
Hygiene Standard
It must be impressed on everybody employed in the meat/food industry, that hygiene concerns both:
- process hygiene
- environmental hygiene
- personal hygiene
- cleaning, disinfection/sanitation
- and that regulations must be observed.
Visit https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/ for more details.
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Handwashing is a simple and small task, but vital to help improve the chances of you and your customers remaining illness-free.
Main Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash
