Study guide

Personal Hygiene for Food Handlers: Handwashing, Gloves and Illness

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Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, with 10 to 15 seconds of scrubbing, in a dedicated handwashing sink. Never touch ready-to-eat food with bare hands. Report vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, or an infected cut on the hands or arms to the person in charge.

What to know for the exam

  • Handwashing steps: wet with warm water, apply soap, scrub hands and arms, rinse, dry with a paper towel or hand dryer.
  • Change single-use gloves when they tear or get dirty, when you change tasks, and after handling raw meat. Wash your hands before you put new ones on.
  • Hand antiseptic is used only on hands that are already washed. It never replaces handwashing.
  • Keep fingernails trimmed and clean. Polish and artificial nails are allowed only under intact gloves.
  • An employee sent home with symptoms but no diagnosis can return 24 hours after the symptoms end.
  • Eat and drink only in designated areas. A closed drink container is allowed at a station if it is handled safely.

Quick quiz: personal hygiene

  1. Question 1 of 5 · Personal hygieneA server tells you her roommate was diagnosed with Hepatitis A three weeks ago. What is her reporting obligation?
    Show answer and explanation

    She must report the exposure, because it falls within 30 days

    Living in the same household as someone diagnosed with Hepatitis A is a reportable exposure within 30 days of the last exposure. Three weeks is inside that window. Each pathogen has its own exposure window: Norovirus is 48 hours, STEC and Shigella are 3 days, Typhoid fever is 14 days, and Hepatitis A is 30 days.

    Source: FDA Food Code, § 2-201.11(A)(5)(d)

  2. Question 2 of 5 · Personal hygieneA hand antiseptic solution used as a hand dip must be maintained clean and at a strength equivalent to at least
    Show answer and explanation

    100 mg/L chlorine.

    A hand antiseptic solution used as a hand dip must be kept clean and at a strength equivalent to at least 100 mg/L chlorine. Separately, any hand antiseptic may only be applied to hands that have already been washed, so a dip is never a substitute for the handwashing procedure.

    Source: FDA Food Code, § 2-301.16(C)

  3. Question 3 of 5 · Personal hygieneAn undiagnosed employee was sent home with vomiting. Her symptoms have now resolved. She may return to full duties
    Show answer and explanation

    24 hours after symptoms resolve.

    The person in charge may allow undiagnosed employees whose symptoms have resolved to return to full duties 24 hours after resolution. This is the key difference between diagnosed and undiagnosed employees: a diagnosis with a listed pathogen triggers additional requirements such as testing or a 7 or 30 day waiting period, while an undiagnosed case does not.

    Source: FDA Food Code, § 2-201.13

  4. Question 4 of 5 · Personal hygieneWhere prior approval allows bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food, employees must use at least how many additional control measures?
    Show answer and explanation

    Two

    At least two of five listed additional control measures are required: double handwashing, nail brush use, hand antiseptic after handwashing, incentive programs such as paid sick leave that discourage working while ill, or other measures approved by the regulatory authority. Two are required because no single measure is reliable enough on its own once the barrier is removed.

    Source: FDA Food Code, § 3-301.11(E)

  5. Question 5 of 5 · Personal hygieneYou tear a glove while portioning salad. You should
    Show answer and explanation

    remove both gloves, wash your hands, and put on a new pair.

    Single-use gloves are for one task and must be discarded when damaged or soiled, or when the work is interrupted. Handwashing between glove changes matters because hands become contaminated during removal, and a torn glove means your skin was already in contact with the food.

    Source: FDA Food Code, § 3-304.15(A)

Take the 40 question practice test

Questions and answers

How long should food handlers wash their hands?

At least 20 seconds in total, including 10 to 15 seconds of scrubbing.

When should a food handler change gloves?

When gloves tear or get dirty, when changing tasks, after handling raw meat, and after any interruption. Wash hands before putting on new gloves.

What symptoms must a food employee report?

Vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, and a cut or burn with pus on the hands, wrists or arms.

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