September 2001

Personal Hygiene and Food Safety

What does taking a bath have to do with food safety? Easy. Both focus on cleanliness. Personal hygiene is a key factor in reducing the risk of a food-borne illness, commonly referred to as food poisoning, as well as other illnesses.

A teen who is sick misses school, work and extra curricular activities. On the other hand, a sick teen who goes to school can infect others, compounding the problem. Prevention is the best choice.

What is food-borne illness? There are four types of microorganisms (or germs) that can contaminate food and cause illness: bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. Because the germs are alive, they can change and adapt to their environment over time, causing new types of food-borne illness to occur. While it is difficult to totally eliminate such germs, it can be easy to reduce the amount to a level where few problems occur.

Hand washing is one of the best prevention measures against food-borne illness as well as most other illnesses. Hands should be washed after using the bathroom, petting the dog or cat, working with food, or participating in activities outside such as sports or lawn mowing. In addition, hands should be washed before working with food and before eating, particularly if the food will be eaten by the hands rather than with a fork (such as when eating hamburgers and tacos).

Adults can reinforce the importance of cleanliness at home by modeling behaviors such as thorough hand washing and safe handling of foods.

Hand Washing Guidelines:

• wash for at least 20 seconds

• use warm to hot water (not hot enough to cause burns)

• use soap

• wash hands, wrists, fingernails, and between the fingers

• dry with a paper towel or air dryer

Safe Food on the Go

Whether it is a snack or a meal, teens are eating on the run. Choosing foods that are safe, nutritious and easily carried can be a challenge. Perishable food should be at room temperature no more than two hours. If the weather is hot and humid, that time is reduced to one hour.

Keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold is key in the prevention of food-borne illness. Choose foods that do not require refrigeration when the food is to be carried but not eaten for several hours.

Food Safety on the Job

Many teens have part-time jobs. For many teens, working in a restaurant is one of the few options for part-time, flexible employment.

In a food service job, cleanliness is important. Workers need to be aware of the risks of food-borne illness to themselves as well as to customers. Teen workers should be aware of the importance of:

• washing hands

• wearing clean clothes

• keeping hair secured

• informing their supervisor if they are ill or have a cut on their hands.

Sources:

• 4-H Health Curriculum, Cooperative Curriculum System, 1997

• ServSafe Coursebook, National Restaurant Association, 1999

• Food Microbiology/Food-borne Illness, University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension

This issue of “Ups & Downs” was contributed by Susan Hansen, University of Nebraska Extension Educator, Colfax/Cuming Counties.

“Ups & Downs” is edited by Rosalie Bakken and co-edited by Stephen Russell, Ph.D., 4-H Youth Development Specialist, University of California-Davis.