Personal Hygiene

Your clothing carries whatever it has touched. Clean attire and effective hair restraint prevent both biological and physical contamination.

• Wear a clean uniform or apron and change it if it becomes soiled during a shift.
• Restrain hair with a hairnet, hat, or tie-back so it can't fall into food; beard restraints are required where facial hair is not closely trimmed.
• Remove your apron before leaving the prep area — especially before taking out garbage or using the restroom — and put on a clean one when you return.
• Change into work clothes at the establishment where possible, and keep street clothes and personal bags in designated lockers away from food and equipment.

Jewelry and nails trap bacteria and can break off into food. Both are common inspection violations.

• Remove rings, bracelets, and watches before handling food — a plain wedding band is sometimes the only exception a policy allows.
• Keep fingernails short, clean, and unpolished; artificial nails are generally not permitted in food prep areas. If your policy allows them, single-use gloves must be worn at all times.
• Store personal medication, phones, cups and bags away from food, equipment and food-contact surfaces.
• If you drink at work, use a covered container with a lid and a straw, stored below or away from food and prep surfaces — and wash your hands after handling it.

Most contamination from food handlers happens through small, automatic gestures. Naming them makes them easier to catch.

• Avoid touching your face, hair, or phone while handling food, and wash your hands immediately if you do.
• Never eat, drink from an open container, chew gum or use tobacco in prep, storage, service or warewashing areas.
• Never taste food with your fingers or reuse a tasting spoon. Use a clean single-use spoon, then set it aside for washing.
• Cough or sneeze away from food into your elbow or a tissue, then wash your hands before continuing.
• Do not sit or lean on prep tables, and never place food-contact tools on the floor or on garbage containers.

An open wound on your hand is a direct source of Staphylococcus aureus, which produces a toxin that cooking cannot destroy.

• Bandage and glove any cuts or wounds on your hands before returning to food handling.
• Use a brightly colored, waterproof bandage so it is visible if it falls into food, and cover it with a single-use glove or finger cot.
• Wounds on the arm must be covered with an impermeable bandage; wounds elsewhere on the body need a dry, tight-fitting bandage.
• Do not work with food if you have an infected, weeping or pus-filled sore on your hands, wrists or arms — report it to your manager.
• Report the injury so it is logged, and discard any food that may have been contaminated.