Keeping a clean appearance at work is very important especially in a restaurant or food establishment.
We are not only trying to sell good fresh food we are trying to sell an image. A stained uniform won’t help you achieve this.
The main issue is food stained or soiled uniforms contained pathogens may cause a food borne illness. Employees for example may take a bus to work, here there are many possibilities to come in contact with pathogens which can get transmitted to a workers uniform.
So what do we do?
Get or install lockers at work, request that employees arrive on time and give them ample time to change at work.
Give monthly briefings and put up signage that encourages workers to understand the importance of keeping up a good personal hygiene practice.
Give employees more than one uniform to unsure they have time to do their cleaning. One uniform a week is not sufficient.
Cross-contamination on the service route: The process for servicing food accounts must be designed and executed to prevent cross-contamination. Cross-contamination can occur when dirty clothes are picked up and placed in the same cart in which clean garments are delivered. Dirty garments should be placed in a disposable plastic laundry bag within the delivery cart and stored in a specific location on the truck to avoid cross-contamination. The delivery person should wear disposable gloves when delivering clean garments and picking up dirty garments.
Employees should follow these guidelines to ensure food safety:
Uniforms, aprons, and garments should be clean at the beginning of each shift and changed regularly when necessary.
Uniforms or aprons should not be worn outside the food-preparation area.
Avoid using handkerchiefs for wiping or blowing noses; use disposable tissues.
Wear disposable gloves.
Avoid wearing jewelry while handling or preparing food.
Do not wear damaged or deteriorating uniforms, aprons or garments.
No pockets above the waist and no buttons on the garments.
Having your workers and managers take the food managers safety protection course and exam is very important. As risks increase and business in these days is generally harder. Keeping your employees up to code and in check is important.