Playing it safe
Hygiene
plays a critical role in assessing a food processing company's credibility.
Vijay Sardana explains the ‘musthaves’ of an effective employee
hygiene programme
Human
resources are involved in most stages of the food chain-from production,
harvesting and packaging, to transportation and handling. Apparently,
health and hygiene plays a crucial role in controlling microbial contamination
of food. Workers have the maximum chances of spreading diseases in this
sector and there have been cases when many infected employees have been
implicated on these grounds. Studies also show that faecal and oral
infections are the primary microbiological concerns to be associated
with food.
Common microbial pathogens
Following are some microbial pathogens transmitted through
contamination of food:• Salmonella species
• Shigella species
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Streptococcus pyrogenes
• E. Coli
• Giardia lamblia
• Hepatitis A virus
Symptoms associated with infections by the above range from diarrhoea,
fever and vomiting, to jaundice and sore throat. An employee suffering
from any of these symptoms carries a great risk of transmitting food
borne diseases. Unfortunately, many food companies do not practise regular
medical check-ups of their employees to prevent such incidences. Though
a thorough hand wash is the recommended solution to minimise the spread
of pathogenic bacteria, practising it along with several other precautionary
measures could limit the contamination risk to a considerable extent.
Recommended hygiene practices
Individuals in agricultural setups (farms, packing
areas and transportation) who come in direct contact, either with food
or the equipment dealing with it, also pose a great risk of being infected.
Consequently, good hygienic practices by all personnel (including senior
managers) who are involved in various stages of food-from harvesting,
packing and distribution, is essential to control the spread of biological
hazards. Similarly, personnel indirectly involved in food operations
(such as pest control operators) must also necessarily comply with established
hygienic practices. Employees should also be trained to report of their
health or any other symptoms of illnesses to the person in charge. Symptoms
of illness, infection, acute gastrointestinal illness (such as diarrhoea,
fever, vomiting, jaundice, or sore throat with fever) and a lesion containing
pus (such as a boil or infected...
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