List 6 different hygiene hazards that may apply when handling food

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Even a single food-related incident can deal a harsh blow to your business, so food safety should always be a top priority. The only defense in a court of law is to have all your due diligence paper work completed. Read on to learn about the dangers you should watch out for and what you can do to ensure your food is safe to eat.
Food handlers – personal hygiene tips
Food handlers – handwashing
Food handler health and working
Food handlers – skills and knowledge
Food handlers – training

Biological hazards include bacteria, parasites, fungi and viruses. They can develop in poorly handled food or through contamination from an outside source. Ensure that all your produce has been purchased from an approved supplier. Ask you supplier for evidence of external auditing such as BRC or SALSA. In all cases of suspected contaminated food, dispose of it immediately.

Chemical hazards are harmful substances such as pesticides or machine oils. These hazards are present at every stage of food handling. Minimise risk by inspecting the food upon the delivery to ensure the goods coming in are fit for consumption – record deliveries in to your premises and mark any issues on the document. Always ensure that all foods are handled and stored correctly. Ensure that you have separate storage for the chemicals used in your operation.

Physical hazards are objects which contaminate your foods such as pieces of glass or metal, toothpicks, jewelry or hair. Care should be taken during the preparation process in order to reduce the risk of contamination. Ensuring that all foods are covered in storage will help prevent physical contamination from occurring.

Foodborne Illnesses or Food poisoning occurs when food spoilage takes place. This can be caused by contaminated food, pathogenic bacteria’s, viruses or parasites that contaminate food items.

The best way to ensure that the risk is minimised by ensuring that all key stages of your HACCP Policy are being monitored and recorded. Safe storage, minimal preparation time to ensure that temperature control is being effectively managed and good cooking records (ensuring that you food reaches core temperatures) will help to reduce the risk posed by these bacterias.

Time & temperature abuse is caused by improper cooking, holding, cooling and reheating of food, leading to the growth of pathogens.

Cross contamination occurs when you mix cooked and uncooked food, especially raw meat or fish. Assign different containers for the preparation of each kind of food and avoid un-sanitised food surfaces, utensils and equipment.

Poor personal hygiene is a common culprit that’s easily avoidable by following these rules:

Wash and sanitize hands properly between tasks and whenever they get dirty
Wear single-use gloves while preparing or serving ready-to-eat food
Clean and trim nails
Bathe or shower daily
Keep hair neatly combed with long hair tied back
Wear a hair net or cap and apron at all times
Cover wounds at all times and refrain from handling food
Stay away from the kitchen when sick and consult a doctor as to when it is safe to return
Wear a uniform
Remove jewelry before working

Ensure that your team has had the necessary training on your operation and access to the food safety policy. Also make sure they have an accredited food safety training to a level suitable to their role and responsibility.

Allergens should also be considered. To find out more on how to deal with these and more advice visit our Food Allergen Guide to find out more.

Personal hygiene is important to prevent food poisoning.
When handling food, wash your hands thoroughly and often.
If you are sick, do not go to work, because you can contaminate food more easily.
Food handlers should be properly trained in safe food handling.

Good personal hygiene can prevent food poisoning.

Bacteria that cause food poisoning can be on everyone – even healthy people. You can spread bacteria from yourself to the food if you touch your nose, mouth, hair or your clothes, and then food.

Good personal hygiene also makes good business sense. Customers like to see food-handling staff who take hygiene seriously and practise safe food handling.

Watch how your co-workers handle food and consider it from a customer’s point of view. Would you want to eat at, or buy food from, the place you work?

Food handlers – personal hygiene tips

To prevent food poisoning using good personal hygiene, follow these tips:

wash and dry your hands thoroughly before handling food, and wash and dry them again frequently during work
dry your hands with a clean towel, disposable paper towel or under an air dryer
never smoke, chew gum, spit, change a baby’s nappy or eat in a food handling or food storage area
never cough or sneeze over food, or where food is being prepared or stored
wear clean protective clothing, such as an apron
keep your spare clothes and other personal items (including mobile phones) away from where food is stored and prepared
tie back or cover long hair
keep fingernails short so they are easy to clean, and don’t wear nail polish because it can chip into the food
avoid wearing jewellery, or only wear plain-banded rings and sleeper earrings
completely cover all cuts and wounds with a wound strip or bandage (brightly coloured waterproof bandages are recommended)
wear disposable gloves over the top of the wound strip if you have wounds on your hands
change disposable gloves regularly
advise your supervisor if you feel unwell, and don’t handle food.

Food handlers – handwashing

Thoroughly washing your hands reduces the chance of contaminating food with bacteria from yourself.

Wash your hands with soap and warm water, and don’t forget the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.

Thoroughly dry your hands immediately after you wash them. Always dry your hands with a clean towel, disposable paper towel or under an air dryer. The important thing is to make sure your hands are completely dry. Never use a tea towel or your clothes to dry your hands.

Wash your hands after:

going to the toilet
handling raw food
blowing your nose
handling garbage
touching your ears, nose, mouth or other parts of the body
smoking
every break
handling animals.

If you are wearing disposable gloves, change them regularly – at the same times you would normally wash your hands if you weren’t wearing gloves. Wash and dry your hands before putting on gloves.

Food handler health and working

Food handlers may contaminate food, so employers and employees must be careful to ensure that no illness is passed on by those working in the industry.

You should not go work if you are vomiting or have diarrhoea. Don’t return to work until your symptoms have stopped for 48 hours. If you are unsure, you should contact your doctor for advice.

Do not go to work if you sick with an illness that is likely to be transmitted through food. Such illnesses include gastroenteritis (often called ‘gastro’) – including viral gastroenteritis (norovirus or rotavirus) – hepatitis A and hepatitis E, sore throat with fever, and fever with jaundice.

You must advise your supervisor if you are feeling unwell, including when suffering from a cold, flu, and sties and other eye infections.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand explains the requirements for food handlers and food businesses.

Food handlers – skills and knowledge

Food handlers need to know how their actions can affect the safety of the food they handle.

Food handlers need to know:

how to locate and follow workplace information
about their own food handling operations
how to identify and correct (or report) situations or procedures that do not meet the business' food safety obligations
who to report food safety issues to within the business
their responsibilities in relation to health and hygiene requirements.

The Australian Food Safety Standard 3.2.2 (Food Safety Practices and General Requirements) requires that people who handle food must have the appropriate skills and knowledge for the work they do.

Food handlers – training

Everyone working in a food premises are encouraged to be trained in safe food handling. DoFoodSafely , a free online learning program, is a good place to start.

Reviewed 22 November 2021