Good personal hygiene practices are a must and cannot be overemphasized for food service workers.  When good hygiene principles are practiced, it keeps the workers healthy and helps prevent the spread of disease to food.  There are fewer germs, bacteria, and/or viruses present when food service personnel are clean.  The following rules should be observed:

Cleanliness - The outer clothing of all employees must be clean.  Employees must maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness during all periods of duty.  Hair nets, head bands, caps or other effective hair restraints must be worn by all persons engaged in the preparation and service of food to keep hair from food and food-contact surfaces.

Clothing - Shoes and clothing must be comfortable in order to avoid fatigue, poor posture and to prevent accidents.  Garments should not be too loosely (falling) or tightly worn.

Hand Washing - Employees must wash their hands and exposed portions of their arms at the following times:

• After touching bare human body parts other than clean hands and clean exposed portions of the arm
• After using the rest room
• After caring for or handling support animals
• After coughing, sneezing, using a handkerchief or disposable tissue, using tobacco, eating or drinking
• Immediately before engaging in food preparation including working with exposed food, clean equipment and utensils and unwrapped single-service and single-use articles
• During food preparation, as often as necessary to remove soil And contamination and prevent cross contamination when changing tasks
• When switching between working with raw foods and working with ready to eat foods
• After engaging in any activities that contaminate the hands

Fingernails - Food employees must keep their fingernails trimmed, filed, and maintained so the edge and surfaces are cleanable and not rough.  Many germs get caught underneath long nails and can get into food while it is being prepared; once there, they will multiply, causing the food to become contaminated.

People In Kitchens - Only authorized individuals, necessary for the operation of the food service establishment, or as part of an organized educational event, are allowed to be in the food preparation or utensil washing areas.  Infants, children and the general public must not be permitted in food preparation areas.

Cleaning Procedure - Food employees must clean their hands and exposed portions of their arms with soap and running water by vigorously rubbing together the surfaces of there lathered hands and arms for at least 20 seconds and thoroughly rinsing with clean water. Employees must pay particular attention to the areas underneath the fingernails and between the finger

Where to Wash - Food employees must clean their hands in a hand-washing lavatory that is equipped with hot and cold running water.  Employees must not clean their hands in a sink used for food preparation, or in a service sink or a curbed cleaning facility used For the disposal of mop water and similar liquid waste.

In addition to being personally clean and well groomed, food service workers should follow these rules for safe food handling practices:

• Keep hands and fingers away from hair, face, nose, and mouth.  Germs may be easily picked up and transmitted to food by the hands and fingers
• Use spoons, forks and other utensils when handling foods.  This reduces hand contact and contamination of food being prepared
• Outer clothing must be worn over regular clothing when moving From a raw food operation to a ready-to-eat food operation.  Outer coverings should be changed, as they become increasingly soiled
• Utensils, clean or dirty should be handled by their base or handle -- this protects both the server and customer from germs
• All equipment and utensils must always remain in good condition to prevent germs from collecting in broken areas

Smoking - Employees must not smoke or use tobacco in any form while working in the preparation or service of food or while handling food service utensils or equipment.   Smoking is not permitted in food storage and preparation areas or in areas where utensils are cleaned or stored.  Cigarette lighting is also prohibited in all these areas.

Illness - Disease can be passed from person to person.  As a food service employee, your health habits affect you and your work and the health of those around you. REMEMBER:

No person is allowed to work in any area of a food service establishment in any capacity while affected with any disease in a communicable form or while a carrier of such disease or while afflicted with boils, infected wounds, sores or an acute respiratory infection, in which there is a probability of such person contaminating food or food-contact surfaces with pathogenic organisms, or transmitting disease to other individuals.  Before reporting for work, approval from a physician may be required if you have been exposed to a severe communicable disease (Salmonella, Staphylococcus, Hepatitis, diarrhea infections, etc.).   All communicable diseases should be reported to the county health department.   Only healthy people must be permitted to  handle food.  Food infections can come from a sick person, a carrier of disease (a sick or well person), a diseased animal, through milk, water, air, food, insects, rats, mice, man, to you and your customers, affecting your profit!