Handling food and fitness to work
Food handling hygiene and fitness to work in the food industry, including food-related illnesses and symptoms.
If you or your workers work with or near open food, and suffer from certain infections - bacterial or viral - you should take precautions to prevent contamination.
There are some illnesses and symptoms that staff should report to a manager, such as diarrhoea and/or vomiting. These are the main symptoms of many illnesses that can be transmitted through food. Anyone handling food or working in a food handling area must report these symptoms immediately.
You must not allow anyone who has these symptoms to work with or around open food - usually until 48 hours after the symptoms have ended.
Food business operators should follow the Food Standards Agency's and their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) processes.
Importance of washing hands
Everyone who handles food and who works around open food must always thoroughly wash and dry their hands before handling food or touching surfaces likely to come into contact with food. Food workers should always wash their hands after going to the toilet. It is possible to be infected but not to display symptoms of the illness.
Read more about cleaning, disinfection and preventing food cross-contamination.