here - Healthy Cities Illawarra

Hand washing
Many food handlers are confused about the use
of disposable latex gloves – how many times
have we recoiled in horror at the sight of the
gloved hand that just made our sandwich, take
our money, give us our change back, (maybe
even scratch their nose) before going on to make
the next sandwich….with the same gloved hand?
To meet food handler’s hygiene requirements
those gloves should be removed, discarded and
replaced with a new pair each time the wearer
does something other that handle the food,
and before working with ready to eat food after
handling raw food.
The NSW Food Standards Code does not
require food handlers to use gloves. Gloves
should be seen as one alternative for protecting
food from contamination by the hands, and are
particularly useful for covering bandaids, long
nails and jewellery. In most cases however,
rather than removing, discarding and replacing
with new gloves, it may be far easier and less
time consuming to thoroughly clean hands
using soap and warm water, drying with single
use paper towel. The Food Standards Code
recommends washing hands whenever hands
are likely to be a source of contamination
(eg. before handling food and after using the
toilet, smoking, coughing, sneezing, using a
handkerchief, eating, drinking or touching hair,
scalp or body). Hands also need to be washed
thoroughly before working with ready to eat food
after handling raw food.
Moreover, due to the high incidence of incorrect
use, the Food Standards recommend the use of
clean kitchen utensils for handling food (tongs,
forks, spatulas, and spoons) in conjunction with
clean hands, as preferable to the use of gloves
in most instances.
Kitchen hygiene
The standard of kitchen and food preparation
facilities will vary dramatically between breakfast
programs. In this region, they range from fully
equipped modern kitchens to fold out tables
and camping sinks. Whatever the kitchen
facilities available to your breakfast program, it is
essential they include adequate storage to keep
food clean and dry, and free from pests. Many
programs rely on large plastic containers on
wheels with tight fitting clip on lids to store food
and equipment safely if they don’t have access
to permanent cupboard space.
Consideration will also need to be given to
adequate access to cold storage for perishable
foods. Access to a fridge is often on a shared
basis, with the canteen for example, so it
is important to not risk compromising the
temperature of the fridge by overloading it.
Other considerations are access to hot and
cold running water for washing up. All food
preparation equipment and benches need to be
thoroughly cleaned after use to ensure there is
no opportunity for food contamination the next
time the equipment is used.
Finally, to avoid littering in areas surrounding
the breakfast program, and ensuing complaints,
make sure children have access to some form of
hygienic rubbish disposal – and, here comes the
hard bit, that they use it!
Food safety
Even with the best hygienic practices, if the
food is not handled and prepared correctly,
the bacteria often present naturally in food can
multiply and with it, the potential to cause serious
illness. For food poisoning to occur there must
be a chain of events:
• Bacteria is present on the food
• Conditions are suitable (warmth, moisture
and food)
• Time to grow and multiply.
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