When and How Often Should a Restaurant Food Handler or Server or Meat & Seafood Market Butcher or Processor Wash Their Hands?

Washing hands is still the simplest and most effective way of eliminating the spread of many of the most common food poisoning microorganisms including Norwalk viruses and Staphylococcus. It is therefore an essential part of any food handler’s daily regimen. This includes not only the commercial or retail restaurant, cafeteria, deli, bakery, meat and seafood market, etc. but also to your own home kitchen food handling practices.

The following list of occasions, instances or situations when food handlers need to wash their hands are actually required by law in most if not all of the U.S. and most western countries that practice high standards for food sanitation and personal hygiene.

Before getting into When, let’s start with How.

How or What is the Best Method to Wash Your Hands:

Basically the employee must thoroughly wash their hands, including under the fingernails and between fingers and any portion of exposed arms that could come in contact with food, with some type of soap or cleanser (anti microbial soap not a requirement) by vigorously rubbing together the surfaces of their lathered hands and arms for at least 10 to 15 seconds (preferably 20) followed by thorough rinsing with clean running water and then by a good drying with a single use paper or cloth towel, or heated-air hand drying device (not an apron!) . A nail brush may not be a requirement but is a good extra to keep and use at the handwash sink.

Here is the When – When is it Required to Wash Your Hands:

Immediately before engaging in food preparation, including working with non-prepackaged food, clean equipment and utensils, and unwrapped single-use food containers and utensils.
After touching bare human body parts other than clean hands and clean, exposed portions of arms. This usually means after touching the face or hair but of course also includes after using the restroom which is next on the list.
After using the toilet room, restroom etc. There is also a requirement that a clearly visible sign be posted at all handwashing facilities used by food employees notifying these employees to wash their hands.

After caring for or handling any animal that may be allowed in a food facility. This includes service animals, pets or animals that may be future meals.
After coughing, sneezing, using a handkerchief or disposable tissue, using tobacco, eating, or drinking. A common sight in a kitchen will be the cook or food handlers eating or drinking while working. Eating is not allowed but drinking from an enclosed, spill proof type container may be allowed while working as long as it is handled to prevent the contamination of the employee’s hands, the container, open, exposed food or food contact surfaces.
After handling soiled equipment or utensils. Usually the dishwashing is handled by different group of employees but occasionally staff may be floating back and forth, or just due to limited size or resources of the facility, may be the same employees.

During food preparation, as often as necessary to remove soil and contamination and to prevent cross-contamination when changing tasks. This may be frequently if the food handler is responsible for more than one job.
When switching between working with raw food and working with ready-to-eat food. This is the major cause or source of cross-contamination where pathogenic or disease causing food poisoning microorganisms are transferred from the raw product (usually chicken, meat or seafood product) to a ready-to-eat product, such as a salad or already cooked food.
Before putting on gloves for working with food. Usually when you are putting on gloves to work with food it means you just came from some other activity. This other activity probably was one of those just noted above in which case you need to wash you hands!
Before dispensing or serving food or handling clean tableware and serving utensils in the food service area. This means any time the server / waiter / waitress is going to handle some food or utensil that is going directly to the customer.
After engaging in other activities that contaminate the hands. This is a catch all for anything that is not mentioned above.

As you can see, the health & safety codes cover every possible activity, circumstance, situation or activity that requires an employee to wash their hands. Also hand sanitizer can not be substituted. Hand sanitizer actually can be applied only to hands that are already cleaned as I described under the "How" section above and even then the sanitizer has to comply with specific FDA requirements.

If you observe an employee, food handler, or server not washing their hands when they should you can and should do two things:

1. Notify the manager of your observation and ask that they take some action to correct this violation;

2. Contact the local Environmental Health Food Inspection program to make a complaint. As already mentioned, washing hands is still the best preventative measure in minimizing the spread of pathogenic or contagious microorganisms, especially via food.

REFERENCES:

California Retail Food Code effective July 1, 2007 Sections 113953.3, 113953.4, and 113953.5

About the Author

Michael Doom worked as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) for Los Angeles County for more than 21 years. For most of these years he worked as a field inspector and Supervising Senior REHS in the retail food inspection programs. His experience within Los Angeles County has taken him to some of the smallest “mom and pop” restaurants and markets in the poorest areas of south Los Angeles, as well as to the largest facilities and affluent areas on the west side. He has literally conducted thousands of inspections of numerous types of restaurants, food markets, warehouses, events, and more; educated hundreds, if not more than a thousand, food facility owners, managers and employees on food sanitation and food safety, and how to prevent food poisoning hazards; has supervised more than 50 field inspectors that were responsible for an inventory of food facilities larger than many U.S. states.

Mr. Doom has a B.S. in Biology from Loyola Marymount University, an REHS with the state of California, holds a Project Management Professional (PMP®) credential from the Project Management Institute, and a Masters Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University. Mr. Doom continuously works to expand his knowledge and experience in the subject of food safety, sanitation and food poisoning prevention.

He can be reached at Mike@foodpoisoningprevention.com