What are five unhygienic personal habits that could lead to unhygienic contact with food?

If you’re a food handler, making sure you don’t contaminate food through illness or unclean habits is very important to keep food safe to eat.

What are the requirements?

Under Standard 3.2.2 - Food Safety Practices and General Requirements, as a food handler you need to do whatever you can to make sure you do not make food unsafe or unsuitable.

Be clean and careful

• wash and dry your hands thoroughly​
• stop hair, clothes, jewellery or phone touching food or surfaces (e.g. tie hair back, remove loose jewellery, cover open sores)
• don’t touch ready-to-eat food with your bare hands - use tongs or gloves
• wear clean clothing and aprons
• do not eat, spit, smoke, sneeze, blow or cough over food or surfaces that touch food.

You need to tell your supervisor if you think you are sick or have contaminated food in any way.

Wash your hands properly

• use the sink provided just for hand washing
• wet your hands under warm running water
• lather them with soap and thoroughly scrub fingers, palms, wrists, back of hands and under nails for about 15 seconds
• rinse hands under warm running water
• turn off taps using a paper towel or elbow
• thoroughly dry your hands with a single-use towel.

When to wash your hands

• before you start handling food or go back to handling food after other tasks
• before working with ready-to-eat food after handling raw food
• after using the toilet
• after smoking, coughing, sneezing, using a handkerchief or tissue, eating or drinking
• after touching your hair, scalp, nose, etc.
• after doing anything else that could make your hands dirty, like handling garbage, touching animals or children, or cleaning duties.

What if I’m sick?

Some illnesses can be passed to people through food – these are called foodborne illnesses (e.g. gastro and hepatitis A).

If you know or think you have a foodborne illness (e.g. you have vomiting, diarrhoea or fever):

• tell your supervisor
• do not handle food if it’s likely to become contaminated
• only return to food handling when a doctor says you are well enough (usually 48 hours after symptoms have stopped).

Need more information?

Safe Food Australia is a guide to the food safety standards in Chapter 3 of the Food Standards Code. Health and hygiene is under Standard 3.2.2 clauses 13-18. Hand basins, toilets and storage are also in Standard 3.2.3 clauses 14-16.

Copies of the guide are available at on our website or by emailing [email protected].​

Good personal hygiene habits go a long way with customers. You are handling their food, and they want to see food handlers that look professional and put-together, as opposed to food handlers that follow poor hygiene habits.

But personal hygiene isn’t just about appearances—it’s about preventing food poisoning. Everyone carries a certain level of bacteria. Touching your eyes, mouth, nose, hair, or clothing, and then proceeding to touch food without washing your hands promotes the spread of that bacteria.

Here are some things to keep in mind when it comes to having good personal hygiene and avoid spreading bacteria from yourself to the food you are preparing.

Hand Washing

Following proper handwashing technique is of the utmost importance, as it prevents the spread of foodborne illnesses. Hands should be washed and dried before handling food and in between tasks such as taking out the garbage, handling raw foods, breaks, and touching clothing, hair, or face.

Correct handwashing involves the following steps:

1. Wet your hands with clean water and apply soap
2. Lather the soap
3. Scrub your hands for 20 seconds and make sure to get the back of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails
4. Rinse off the soap
5. Dry your hands with a clean towel or hand dryer

Dirty Clothing

Dirty clothing can lead to cross-contaminationwhen bacteria transfers from the garment to the prepared food. Wear a clean uniform at the beginning of each shift and change when necessary. Dirty uniforms should be stored separately from clean ones and stored somewhere outside of the kitchen, and uniforms should be washed after use.

Disposable, single use gloves should be worn and changed frequently. If you have a cut on your hand, it needs to be completely covered with a bandage and cleaned regularly.

Overall Health

If you feel sick or have an illness that is contagious, you should not be handling food. It is incredibly easy to spread bacteria, especially with an illness that is easily transmitted through food.

If you’re experiencing symptoms such as:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Sore throat with fever
• Jaundice

you should not go to work until your symptoms are gone for at least 48 hours. Let your boss know when you are experiencing these symptoms, or other issues like a cold or contagious eye infection.

As a food handler, make sure you undergo proper training to understand safe food handling practices. Learn more through our online, video-based food handlers training course.

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