Food handler are responsible for cooking, preparing, serving, packing, displaying and storing food. They must follow any safety instructions issued by an employer, and conduct their duties in such as way so that they do not affect the health and safety of themselves, work colleagues, customers or their employers.
At work they must;
- Properly use and look after any cooking utensils and personal protective equipment.
- Not to engage in horseplay which would put others at risk.
- Keep to a minimum any contact with ready-to-eat food.
- Have high standards of personal hygiene.
- Regularly wash hands.
- Follow all safety instructions.
- Clean up as they go along.
A food handler must tell their supervisors if;
- They suspect they may have accidentally contaminated food.
- If they have, or are carrying a disease that might be transmitted through food.
- They are ill.
- They see something that is wrong.
Feeling unwell
Food handlers must not work with any kind of food if they have illness such as a cold sore, infected cuts, colds, skin conditions or nose and throat infections etc. They should not return to work until they have been symptom free for at least 48 hours. Any employee who is unwell can be given other work to do such as in a warehouse where only packaged food is handled. It’s also worth taking into account the fact that some people can have infections without showing any symptoms. Because they initially have a very mild infection they can be long-term carriers of infectious bacteria, or it could be because they are in the early stages of an illness and symptoms are not yet apparent.
Related courses
Food hygiene course online