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someone, it is advisable to take into account the nature of the likely
consequences of something going wrong should you make the wrong
decision. Factors to consider include the nature of their duties and the food,
processes that will be applied to the food and whether vulnerable people will
be consuming the food, e.g. young children or people who are already ill.
Food handling duties would include directly handling open food or touching
surfaces that will come into direct contact with food, such as primary food
packaging before use and food equipment. Food handling areas are where
these activities take place. It follows that the affected member of staff could be
given work elsewhere in the premises, such as warehouse operations where
only packaged food is handled, although they should practice good personal
hygiene, especially washing their hands thoroughly after using the toilet, so as
not to spread the infection to other workers.
The legal requirement also extends to managing the risk from contamination
by other infected workers and visitors to rooms and areas where open food is
stored or handled, e.g. managers, maintenance contractors, inspectors etc.
Therefore, use of the terms ‘food handlers’, ‘staff’ and ‘workers’ in this
document should be taken to include these additional people.
Identifying infected food handlers usually relies on food handlers reporting
illnesses, symptoms and conditions and so requires their understanding and
cooperation to work effectively. Annex 1 contains a simple summary for
managers to give to anyone working in a food handling area, to help them
understand what to report and to do.
Best Practice
It is best to assume that the cause of any symptoms like those described is an
infection and the food handler should be excluded until evidence to the
contrary is received. See section 11 for advice on when exclusion may not be
needed though.
Excluding infected food handlers from the entire premises is also an option, as
this will remove the potential risk of contamination of food via other staff who
may use the same facilities, e.g. toilets or canteens, as the infected person.
Pre-employment checks on the health of food handlers and other workers in
food businesses are not required by law, but they have been common in the
food industry for many years. Such checks are usually in the form of
questionnaires and requirements to obtain medical clearance certificates
before working. These can provide a useful snapshot of someone’s health at
a point in time and reveal information about their past which could be relevant.
They also provide an opportunity to emphasise to food handlers the
importance of personal health and hygiene to the safety of food. However,
they cannot be relied on and don’t guarantee the future health status of any
individual. An example of a pre-employment questionnaire is at Annex 3.
These checks are not required by food hygiene legislation. However, Local
Authorities do have special powers, under separate public health legislation, to
require individuals to undergo tests in certain circumstances if they suspect