REASON: Disease transmitted through food frequently orginates from an infected food service employee even though the employee shows little outward appearance of being ill. A wide range of communicable diseases and infections may be transmitted by infected food service personnel to other employees and to the consumer through the contamination of food and through careless food handling practices. It is the rsponsibility of both management and staff to see that no person who is affected with any disease that can be transmitted by food works in any area of a food service establishment where there is a possibility of disease transmission.

REASON: In order to prevent the contamination of food and food contact surfaces and the resulting potential transmission of foodborne illness, it is essential that employees observe strict standards of cleanliness and proper hygiene during their working periods and before starting work or returning to work after any interruption of their food service activities.

REASON: Hair restraints and the clothing of food service employees play important roles in the prevention of food contamination and food-contact surface contamination. Because of this, hair should be restrained to prevent any possibility of its entering into food. Employees also must not wear clothing that is obviously soiled or difficult to keep clean because food may be repeatedly contaminated by food debris or other soil from the clothing of food handlers.

REASON: The overall cleanliness and observation of good hygienic practices by an employee include not only the personal cleanliness of the employee but also the way he performs his routine duties.

This creates a situation where both factors are interdependent since an unclean employee cannot handle food in a sanitary fashion and in a work situation any employee soon accumulates excessive soil if proper sanitary procedures are not observed. Smoking or eating by employees anywhere but in designated areas is prohibited because of the probability of contamination of food and food contact surfaces by the employees as a result of these activities.

Insanitary and unsightly personal practices such as scratching the head, placing the fingers in or about the mouth or nose, or indiscriminate and uncovered sneezing or coughing may not only result in contamination of the food but may adversely affect consumer confidence in the establishment.

Careless handling of and unnecessary contact with the soiled surfaces of tableware or linens should be avoided because it unnecessarily exposes employees to health hazards and increases the possiblity of disease transmission to the consumers.