Personal Hygiene: Section 11

1
Personal hygiene
Persons w ho com e into direct or indirect contact w ith edible parts of
anim als or m eat should:
m aintain an appropriate standard of personal cleanliness;
w ear protective clothing appropriate to the circum stances, and
ensure that non-disposable protective clothing is cleaned before and
during w ork;
if w earing gloves during the slaughter and dressing of anim als and
the handling of m eat, ensure that they are of an approved type for
the particular activity, e.g. chain-m ail stainless steel, synthetic fabric,
latex, and they are used according to specifications, e.g. w ashing of
hands before use, changing or sanitizing gloves w hen contam inated;
im m ediately w ash and sanitize hands and protective clothing w hen
there has been contact w ith abnorm al anim al parts that are likely to
harbour food-borne pathogens;
cover cuts and w ounds w ith w aterproof dressings; and
store protective clothing and personal effects in am enities that are
separate from areas w here m eat m ay be present.
Persons w ho com e into direct or indirect contact w ith edible parts of
anim als or m eat in the course of their w ork should:
w here necessary, have a m edical exam ination prior to and during
em ploym ent;
not w ork w hile clinically affected by, or suspected to be carrying,
com m unicable agents likely to be transm itted through m eat; and
be aw are of and com ply w ith reporting requirem ents to the
establishm ent operator in respect of com m unicable agent.
Source: FAO/WHO. 2004. Draft code of hygienic practice for meat. In Report of the 10th
Session of the Codex Committee on Meat Hygiene. Alinorm 04/27/16. Rome (available at
ftp://ftp.fao.org/codex/Alinorm04/AL04_16e.pdf).
SECTION 11
M
.

B
L
E
I
C
H
,

S
W
I
T
Z
E
R
L
A
N
D
3
SECTION 11
INTRODUCTION
In any food production process, contamination
of the product can originate from the animal,
from the environment or from the personnel
involved in the operation. Human beings can
suffer from diseases that may be transmitted to
others via meat, or they may unwittingly carry
disease agents. There are many organisms that
live in and on our bodies, and cause no illness in
this, their natural environment. However, if
these organisms find themselves in or on
foodstuffs, they may proliferate or produce
toxins that can subsequently cause severe illness
in the unsuspecting consumer. This section
examines measures that the food handler can
take to minimize the risk of contaminating the
product.
PERSONAL HEALTH
The aim of any organism is to survive and
proliferate, ensuring the survival of the species.
This is as true of the micro-organisms that cause
disease as it is of animals and human beings.
When a disease-producing organism enters the
body and produces disease, it multiplies, making
many copies of itself to be spread in the
excretions of the ill host. Thus, respiratory
diseases are spread in the nasal secretions and
phlegm of the patient, and disseminated to the
environment and other potential victims by
coughing and sneezing, whilst gastro-intestinal
diseases are spread through the faeces and
vomit of the patient.
If a person is unwell, and particularly if the
illness is of gastro-intestinal type, that person
should not handle food. It is possible that the
persons hands or clothing may be
contaminated with the organism responsible for
the illness, even though he or she has done
everything to minimize this risk. These
organisms are rather hardy, and enough may
survive normal washing procedures to pose a
risk to the food. Some organisms also remain in
the body even after the person has recovered
from the episode of illness, and will be present
in the faeces. It is recommended that faecal
samples are screened for causes of the
gastro-enteritis prior to the person
returning to food handling, or there should
be a period of perhaps three weeks after
recovery during which time the person should
not handle food.
It should be noted that some people become
lifelong carriers of diseases such as typhoid.
Cuts, grazes and other skin lesions should be
covered, using blue waterproof adhesive tape,
or waterproof gloves. This is because, during the
healing process of skin lesions, the organism
Staphylococcus aureus proliferates around the
lesion. This organism could be transferred to
foods, where it produces a toxin that is
responsible for food poisoning.
CLOTHING
Personal clothing can carry micro-organisms that
have been gathered from a wide variety of
sources into the food-processing environment.
To protect the food from personal clothing,
protective coveralls should be worn. The
coveralls should be light in colour so that
contamination can be easily identified and the
coveralls cleaned. Protective clothing should be
Personal hygiene
PH O TO 11.1
GOOD PRACTICE: clean light-coloured coveralls and
waterproof footwear
D
I
V
.

F
A
R
M

A
N
I
M
A
L

S
C
I
.
,

B
R
I
S
T
O
L

U
N
I
V
.
,

U
K
4
replaced at least at the start of each working
day, and whenever contaminated. Ideally, clean
protective clothing should be donned at regular
intervals throughout the day, at a frequency
appropriate to the production volume and
soiling.
Clean waterproof footwear should be worn,
and should be cleaned before starting or
resuming work after a break, and at the end of
a period of work. This footwear should not be
used in any area other than the food-processing
hall, and separate footwear should be provided
for staff working in high-risk areas and in
dirty areas. A colour-coding system allows
easy identification of equipment allocated to
particular areas of the process.
The wearing of jewellery, watches and other
detachable items should be discouraged. Dirt,
and organisms such as S. aureus, can build up on
and around such items, and they also pose a risk
of foreign body contamination if they fall into
the food.
Similarly, cosmetics, false nails or eyelashes
and strong perfumes should not be allowed
because of the risk of contamination and even
tainting of the food.
CLEANLINESS
All parts of the body carry numerous micro-
organisms, including S. aureus. While it is
impossible for a person to remove all of these
micro-organisms, careful attention to personal
hygiene will minimize the risk of contamination.
Care should be taken not to touch the ears,
nose, mouth, eyes and hair while working with
foodstuffs. These parts of the body may carry a
higher number of organisms that could be
transferred to foods. Also chewing, eating,
spitting and smoking should be discouraged, as
these activities involve touching the mouth, and
saliva may be disseminated into the
environment.
Hands should be kept clean, and fingernails
short. Hands should be washed:
before entering any food-processing area;
after using the toilet;
after coughing, sneezing or touching the face
or hair;
after handling any waste material;
before handling any food or food-contact
equipment;
after handling food or food-contact
equipment;
when leaving the food-processing area.
If gloves are to be worn, hands must also be
clean, and the gloves must be cleaned exactly as
the hands would be.
Hand-washing procedure:
rinse hands with warm water;
apply soap and rub well into all parts of the
hands and fingers;
using a small brush, scrub under the
fingernails, and in the creases of the hands
and fingers;
rinse the hands with warm water;
re-apply soap and rub well in;
rinse well;
dry hands thoroughly.
All the above steps should be carried out to
minimize the risk of contamination. An optional
addition is a sanitizer, applied after the hands
have been dried, but this should not replace any
of the above steps.
It is important that the warm water used be
clean, potable and preferably running water,
and that wastewater be ducted away from the
food-processing area. The use of soap is
important to lift grime from the hands, and it
should be unperfumed to ensure that there is no
risk of tainting the foodstuffs. Drying is vital.
Many micro-organisms are highly susceptible to
desiccation, and the risk of contamination is
reduced by drying. The method of drying should
be using clean disposable towels. A re-usable
towel will gradually become more contaminated
than the hands it is supposed to dry, as each use
will add some more micro-organisms to it.
Warm-air hand-dryers may cause spread of
micro-organisms in droplets into the
environment, and often people do not use the
dryer for a sufficient length of time to
completely dry their hands.
Good practices for the meat industry

Personal Hygiene: Section 11

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Personal Hygiene: Section 11

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Personal Hygiene: Section 11

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1

You might also like