GHP - Section 6: personal hygiene
14/04/2023
This guidance document provides detailed information on the importance of personal hygiene for those who work directly or indirectly with food.
Personnel who do not maintain the appropriate degree of personal cleanliness, who have certain illnesses or conditions or who behave inappropriately, can contaminate food and transmit illness to consumers. Food businesses should establish policies and procedures for personal hygiene, ensure that all personnel are aware of the importance of good personal hygiene, and that they understand and comply with a set of practices designed to ensure food safety.
Consult the guidance document on personal hygiene for guidance on:
- the importance of personal health and cleanliness for those entering or working in food handling areas;
- personal practices to prevent and reduce food contamination by food handlers; and
- how hands should be washed and how frequently to wash them.
Further Readings
The selected links refer to online sources relevant to the Section on Personal hygiene of the FAO GHP and HACCP Toolbox for Food Safety. The chosen links provide valuable online information to gain more in-depth topical knowledge.
(If any of the following links are broken, please notify [email protected])
- Department of Health, State Government of Victoria, Australia. 2021. DoFoodSafely
- FAO. 2004. Good Practices for the Meat Industry, Section 11 – Personal Hygiene
- National Disease Surveillance Centre (NDSC). 2004. Preventing Foodborne Disease: A Focus on the Infected Food Handler
- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2022. When and How to Wash Your Hands | Handwashing | CDC
- World Health Organization (WHO). 1991. Health surveillance and management procedures for food-handling personnel: report of a WHO consultation
- WHO. 2009. WHO guidelines on hand hygiene in health care
- WHO. 2010. Guide to local production: WHO-recommended handrub formulations
Contact
[email protected]