Personal hygiene essentials for improved food safety

When it comes to commercial kitchen supplies for food safety, there is often a heavy emphasis on equipment and utensils such as effective labelling, fridge thermometers, food thermometers and colour coded chopping boards. All of these are valuable tools in establishing a safe kitchen environment which decreases the risks associated with bacteria, allergens and cross contamination. It’s also important, however, that commercial kitchen operators and managers do not overlook the human element in the kitchen environment and the key role that the personal hygiene of food handlers plays in preventing food-borne illnesses.

Industry bodies including Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) and the Australian Institute of Food Safety are strong in their messaging around the food health risks associated with poor standards of personal hygiene and bad practices by food handlers. Dirty clothing, for instance, has been identified as one of the most common causes of cross contamination and is therefore an extremely serious issue in terms of ensuring appropriate personal safety practices to avoid cases of food poisoning. The Food Safety Standards also include a number of specific responsibilities and requirements relating to food handlers and personal hygiene and a number of best practice guidelines designed to prevent human behaviours which cause food safety issues.

As a leading provider of commercial kitchen supplies, Fildes Food Safety offers an extensive range of products to help our customers achieve the best possible food safety standards in every aspect of their operations. For food handlers and personal hygiene issues, this includes products such as disposable gloves. These often provide peace of mind on hygiene by providing a physical barrier between the skin and any food or sensitive materials, with disposable gloves also reducing the risk of cross contamination by being removed and replaced as often as appropriate. To suit the array of differing needs and requirements, our disposable gloves are available in latex, nitrile and vinyl materials. Hair is also a crucial concern for food safety and other personal hygiene products such as hair nets are indispensable in many commercial kitchen settings.

Educating your staff on appropriate personal hygiene practices and procedures, as well as constantly reinforcing those vital messages, can deliver a significant improvement in general safety standards. This reduces the risk of contamination and, in turn, the regulatory and reputational repercussions that a case of food poisoning can cause. Fildes Food Safety also provides a number of educational products for kitchen staff covering the key issues of personal hygiene and behaviours which present a risk to food safety. These include helpful and easy to follow posters which provide food handling staff with a constant reminder and appropriate guidance on their responsibilities for hand sanitation, hand washing and avoiding unsafe behaviours such as the top ten causes of dirty hands.

Contact us to find out more about how our range of commercial kitchen supplies can help you achieve improved safety standards and peace of mind on personal hygiene and employee practices.