3 Personal Hygiene 14 min 36 sec

Summary

The video script emphasizes the importance of personal hygiene in food safety, especially in a large amusement park with numerous food outlets. It highlights the risks of food contamination from employees carrying pathogens and stresses the necessity of proper handwashing, glove use, and overall cleanliness. The script provides detailed guidelines for handwashing, when it's required, and other hygiene practices to prevent foodborne illnesses, ensuring the safety of food and customers.

Takeaways

• 👨‍🍳 **High Volume**: The park can have up to 25,000 visitors daily, requiring a significant amount of food preparation and service.
• 🍔 **Food Consumption**: The park goes through large quantities of food, including 200,000 lbs of hamburgers and 100 million hot dogs in a typical season.
• 🤒 **Health Risks**: Employees can easily contaminate food, especially if they have foodborne illnesses or are carriers of pathogens.
• 🧼 **Hand Hygiene**: Proper handwashing is critical to prevent food contamination and must be done frequently and correctly.
• 👕 **Personal Hygiene**: Employees must maintain good personal hygiene, including wearing clean uniforms and avoiding behaviors that can spread pathogens.
• 🚫 **Exclusion Policies**: Certain health conditions require employees to be excluded from food handling areas to prevent contamination.
• 🤗 **Employee Training**: Training employees on food safety and personal hygiene is essential to prevent foodborne illnesses.
• 👥 **Responsibility**: Managers have a responsibility to enforce hygiene policies and ensure employees follow them.
• 🤲 **Glove Use**: Disposable gloves can act as a barrier between hands and food but should not replace handwashing.
• 🏥 **Reporting Illness**: Employees must report any illness or injury before starting work to prevent potential contamination.
• 🧹 **Overall Cleanliness**: Regular hand care, including keeping nails short and clean, is necessary to prevent the transfer of microorganisms to food.

Q & A

How many people can the park accommodate during peak season?

During peak season, the park can accommodate up to 25,000 people a day.

What are the food consumption numbers for the park in a typical season?

In a typical season, the park goes through almost 200,000 lbs of hamburger and 100 million hot dogs.

Why is personal hygiene so important for food safety?

Personal hygiene is crucial because employees can easily contaminate food with harmful microorganisms, which can cause illness.

What are some ways employees can contaminate food?

Employees can contaminate food by transferring harmful microorganisms to the food they touch, often when they have a foodborne illness or have been around someone who has one.

What are the signs of illness that would prevent an employee from handling food?

Signs of illness that would prevent an employee from handling food include vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, uncovered infected cuts, or any other symptoms that could indicate a foodborne illness.

What are some preventive measures employees should take to avoid contaminating food?

Employees should avoid scratching their scalp, running fingers through hair, rubbing ears, touching pimples, or infected wounds, and not wiping or touching nose or coughing or sneezing into their hand.

What is the proper handwashing technique as described in the script?

The proper handwashing technique involves wetting hands with running water, applying soap, scrubbing hands and arms for 10 to 15 seconds, cleaning under fingernails, rinsing thoroughly, and drying with a single-use paper towel or warm air hand dryer.

When are employees required to wash their hands?

Employees are required to wash their hands before starting work, after using the restroom, after touching their hair, face, or body, after sneezing, coughing, or using a tissue, after smoking, eating, drinking, or chewing gum or tobacco, after handling chemicals, after taking out the garbage, after clearing tables or busing dirty dishes, after touching any clothing or aprons, after handling money, and before and after handling raw meat, poultry, and fish.

What are the guidelines for using gloves in food handling?

Gloves should be disposable, specifically designed for food handling, and never washed and reused. They should be changed when soiled or torn, before beginning a different task, and at least every 4 hours during continual use. Gloves must be changed after handling raw meat and before handling cooked or ready-to-eat food.

What are the dress standards employees should observe for food safety?

Employees should wear clean clothing, a clean hat or hair restraint, and remove jewelry from their hands and arms before preparing food. An apron should be worn and removed when leaving food preparation areas.

What are the policies regarding smoking, eating, drinking, and chewing gum or tobacco while handling food?

Employees must not smoke, chew gum, or tobacco, or eat or drink when preparing or serving food. They should also avoid doing these activities in areas used to clean utensils and equipment.