Personal Hygiene

High standards for personal hygiene are expected for excellent guest service. Food handlers on board need to understand more about the importance of personal hygiene from a food safety perspective to implement good practices and control to keep food safe from harm.

Food Handlers Must:

• Have high standards of personal hygiene,
• Wear clean protective clothing (and not wear off the yacht),
• Not work if ill or suspected of being a carrier of harmful bacteria,
• Be trained in line with work activities.

What is a Carrier? 

A carrier is someone who may be harbouring an illness without showing symptoms but, is still able to contaminate food and others.

Let's begin with hand washing. Since the COVID-19 pandemic everyone is fully aware of the importance of effective hand washing and without a doubt, has seen video's/publications on how to do this properly. Hand washing and hand-washing facilities have always been legal requirements for food handlers.

Hand washing can help reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses (food poisoning)  as well as COVID-19 by 16-20%.  

There should be adequate facilities for hand-washing in all food areas. Hot and cold running water or automatic taps at a temperature of 30-40°C. If the water in hand-washing facilities is too hot people will simply not wash their hands properly.

There must be a bacterial hand wash available with paper towels or air-dryers and a foot-operated bin. 

Sinks for hand-washing should not be used for any other purpose to prevent cross-contamination.

The Steps for effective hand washing are as follows:

1. Wet hands under running water.
2. Apply liquid hand-wash soap.
3. Rub hands together cleaning all parts of hands, especially nails, fingertips including wrists. Do this for at least 20 seconds
4. Rinse off lather (and bacteria).
5. Dry hands with a paper towel or warm air dryer.
6. Use a paper towel to turn off the tap.
7. Throw a paper towel in the foot-operated bin.

Using alcohol gel does not replace effective hand-washing. Sanitising gel is good for entering non-food-related rooms. Alcohol gel is also effective for COVID-19 control when boarding the yacht. It is also good to use if on deck, after folding beach towels for example, if there is no immediate hand-wash sink.

Disposable gloves can be contaminated as well as hands. Hands must be washed before putting on and gloves must be disposed of between tasks. Gloves do not replace hand washing. 

• Hand-washing film from the Food Standards Agency

Always Wash Hands

All crew have the same responsibilities even if they are not food handlers. All illnesses but be reported to ascertain if they are fit for work. Stomach cramps, septic cuts, boils, skin infection, diarrhoea, vomiting, food poisoning and COVID-19 symptoms all require reporting.

• Cross-contamination and illness video from the Food Standards Agency

Hazards from People and Control