A CLEAN START!...personal hygiene. Always wear clean clothes every day. Clean clothes are less likely to have contaminants on them, like bacteria or allergen residues. If your smock

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A CLEAN START!Keep germs from spreading.

Bacteria and other microorganisms can be found all around you – on your body, your clothes, and the things that you touch.

And they can transfer easily to other things you touch, such as a food contact surface, or even directly to the products you handle.

So we need to work hard every day to protect the food we handle. One of the best ways to do this is to practice good personal hygiene.

To start, bathe or shower every day. Be sure to wash your hair thoroughly.

Don‘t come in to work if you have symptoms of a foodborne illness such as diarrhea, vomiting, or a sore throat with a high fever. If you do, you might contaminate food that you handle.

Discussion QuestionWhat else can you do every day to help prevent the spread of bacteria and microorganisms?


PROMOTE PERSONAL HYGIENEHelp protect the product!

There are many ways that you can promote good hygiene during the work day.

To start, always wear a hairnet, even if you’re bald. It keeps loose hair, sweat, and dandruff off the product. If you have a beard or other facial hair, you’ll also need to wear a beard net.

Wash your hands before entering the production floor, and throughout the work day, to prevent germs from getting onto the food you handle.

If you have an open wound, keep it covered with a clean, waterproof, metal-detectable bandage. And put sanitary gloves over the bandage.

Also, don’t smoke, chew gum or tobacco, or eat and drink anything while on the production floor. You could spread contaminants to the products you handle.

Discussion QuestionWhat processes do we have in our facility for protecting the safety of our products?


CLOTHING CARRIES CONTAMINANTSChange it when it’s dirty!

The clothes you wear at work are an important part of good personal hygiene.

Always wear clean clothes every day. Clean clothes are less likely to have contaminants on them, like bacteria or allergen residues.

If your smock gets dirty, change it as soon as possible.

You also need to change your smock when you switch to a different production area, like going from a raw product line to a ready-to-eat product line, or from an allergen-handling area to another area. This prevents one area from contaminating another.

If you have to leave the production area to use the restroom or take a break, take off your smock and hang it up at a designated location. Never wear a smock or other protective clothing into the restroom.

Discussion QuestionWhat are some personal hygiene requirements we have in place in our facility?


GLOVES PROTECT PRODUCTS!Use them to repel contaminants.

Sanitary gloves help protect products from bacteria and other microorganisms on your skin.

Before you use sanitary gloves, put on any required personal protective equipment, such as hairnets, helmets, or earplugs. Then wash and dry your hands before putting on the gloves.

You can contaminate the food you handle if your gloves become torn while you work. So change your gloves when they get dirty or torn, and any time you switch to a different job.

Also change them if you sneeze, cough, or wipe your nose, and any time you touch a non-food contact surface like a door, wall, or trash can.

And never pick up any food that drops to the floor. If you do, you must wash your hands and change your gloves.

Finally, remember that disposable gloves should only be used once. Throw them away when you are done, and put on fresh ones before you go back to work.

Discussion QuestionWhat are some other examples of times when you would need to change your gloves?

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A CLEAN START!...personal hygiene. Always wear clean clothes every day. Clean clothes are less likely to have contaminants on them, like bacteria or allergen residues. If your smock