Five Hygiene Tips to Help Foodservice Employees Prevent Foodborne Illness

A restaurant’s sanitation and hygiene practices have a direct effect on food safety and preventing cross contamination. Due to the fast-paced nature of the foodservice environment, employee training in hygiene and food preparation practices for preventing foodborne illness should be an ongoing process to keep top of mind.

Donna Duberg offers five important hygiene tips for employees to help prevent foodborne illness.

1)Practice good hand hygiene.

SCA’s 2011 Tork Report reveals that only one third of the businesses surveyed had a hand hygiene program in place for their employees. An employee hygiene training program that teaches employees how and when to wash their hands can go a long way in preventing the spread of germs. Put hand hygiene guidelines in a high-traffic employee area and reinforce good hygiene practices with simple rewards and enforce consequences for non-compliance.

Remind employees to wash hands thoroughly after using the restroom and handling meat products. Extra food safety measures include making disposable gloves available to employees handling food prep or having hand sanitizer dispensers positioned in key food handling areas. Employees should also use a single-use paper towel after washing hands to ensure hands can be completely dried and virtually germ free. Using a paper towel to avoid contact with frequently touched surfaces while leaving the washroom, such as the faucet and door handles, also helps minimize the spread of harmful bacteria.

2)Zero in on food preparation.

As part of the employee hygiene training program, foodservice operators should educate staff on the proper methods to clean food preparation areas and equipment to prevent foodborne illnesses from occurring. Cross-contamination can result from lack of hygiene in the kitchen, improper handling of meats and vegetables and failure to follow established procedures for maintaining clean serving areas.

3)Color-code clean up.

Color-coded wipers can be used to assist in the prevention of cross-contamination by assigning different colors for front and back-of-the-house projects – red for raw meats, green for fresh produce, blue for counters and white for anywhere in the dining area where patrons can see you cleaning.

4)Remove the rags.

Because cloth rags and cloth towels used for cleaning are generally kept in dark places and are not always completely dry before they are put away, they can harbor harmful bacteria that is then spread through multiple uses.

Instead, opt for single-use wipers that can be used to clean surfaces then discarded regularly, especially if visibly dirty or used to clean up raw meat juices or spills. Don’t forget to remind employees to clean high-traffic spots such as plastic menus, buffets or self-service areas that are breeding grounds for germs that can lead to foodborne illnesses.

5)Ready the restroom for good hygiene.

Employees and patrons alike can benefit from properly placed, touch-free soap and paper towel dispensers in restrooms. Touch-free dispensers decrease the risk of germ transmission after handwashing, ensuring hands stay clean. Touch-free systems also reduce waste by dispensing only what is needed.

A clean restroom also signals good restaurant hygiene to customers. According to a 2011 survey commissioned by SCA, more than 76 percent of adults agree that restroom cleanliness is an indication of the hygiene standard of the restaurant and its kitchen.