ServSafe Food Handler · ServSafe Food Handler Assessment
ServSafe Food Handler: Personal Hygiene Concepts
Importance ★★★★★ · 20% (estimate)
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Overview
This chapter covers how food handlers keep germs from their own bodies out of food. The main topics are handwashing, gloves, nails and jewelry, work clothes, eating and drinking at work, and what to do when you are sick.
Handwashing is the most important habit. Wet your hands and arms with clean, warm running water, apply soap, scrub for at least 10 to 15 seconds, rinse, and dry with a single-use paper towel or a hand dryer. The whole process takes at least 20 seconds and is done only at a handwashing sink. Wash after using the restroom, touching your hair or face, handling raw meat, taking out garbage, handling chemicals, and eating, drinking, or smoking. Hand sanitizer can be used only after washing, never in place of it.
Ready-to-eat food must not be touched with bare hands, even right after washing; use single-use gloves, tongs, or deli tissue. Single-use gloves are thrown away and never washed or reused, and they are changed when dirty or torn, between tasks, and after raw meat before ready-to-eat food. Keep nails short and clean, and wear nail polish or artificial nails only with intact gloves. Cover a cut on the hand with a bandage and a glove. Wear a hair restraint, and on the hands and arms wear no jewelry except a plain band ring.
Tell your manager if you have vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, a sore throat with fever, or an infected cut, or if a doctor diagnoses one of the Big 6 illnesses. A worker with vomiting or diarrhea is excluded (kept out of the operation) and can usually return after 24 hours without symptoms. A sore throat with fever means restriction (kept away from open food) in most places, but exclusion where a high-risk group is served, such as a nursing home.
Key concepts
Handwashing
Wet hands and arms with warm running water, apply soap, scrub at least 10 to 15 seconds, rinse, and dry with a single-use paper towel or hand dryer. The whole process takes at least 20 seconds.
Memory tipScrub 10 to 15 seconds, whole process at least 20.
Source: U.S. FDA Food Code 2022 · as of 2022
Bare-hand contact
Ready-to-eat food (food that will not be cooked again) must not be touched with bare hands. Use single-use gloves, tongs, spatulas, or deli tissue.
Memory tipWashing your hands is not enough for ready-to-eat food.
Source: U.S. FDA Food Code 2022 · as of 2022
Single-use gloves
Gloves used for one task and then thrown away. Change them when dirty or torn, when you start a new task, after an interruption, and after raw meat before ready-to-eat food. Wash your hands before putting on new gloves.
Memory tipNever wash or reuse single-use gloves.
Hand antiseptic (hand sanitizer)
A liquid or gel used on hands only after correct handwashing. It does not replace washing, and it does not replace gloves or utensils for ready-to-eat food.
Memory tipWash first, sanitize second.
Restriction and exclusion
Restriction keeps a sick worker away from open food and clean equipment, but they may do other work. Exclusion keeps the worker out of the operation completely.
Memory tipRestrict = no food contact. Exclude = do not come in.
Source: U.S. FDA Food Code 2022 · as of 2022
Symptoms to report
Vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice (yellow skin or eyes), a sore throat with fever, and an infected cut or sore with pus on the hands, wrists, or arms. Also report a doctor's diagnosis of a Big 6 illness.
Memory tipVomiting, diarrhea, jaundice: report and stay out.
Source: U.S. FDA Food Code 2022 · as of 2022
Often tested
- Wash hands only in a handwashing sink, never in a prep, dish, or mop sink.
- On the hands and arms, the only jewelry allowed while prepping food is a plain band ring.
- Nail polish or artificial nails are allowed only with intact gloves.
- Eat, drink, and smoke only in set-aside areas away from food; a drink in a prep area needs a lid and straw.
- Vomiting or diarrhea: excluded; usually back after 24 hours without symptoms.
- Sore throat with fever: restricted in most places, excluded where a high-risk group is served.
Easy to confuse: Restriction vs. exclusion
| Item | Restriction | Exclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Kept away from open food and clean equipment | Kept out of the operation completely |
| Example | Sore throat with fever in most places | Vomiting, diarrhea, new jaundice; sore throat with fever at a nursing home |
3 sample questions
Verified practice questions from this unit.
Question 1. How long should the whole handwashing process take, at a minimum?
- ① At least 10 seconds
- ② Only as long as it takes to rinse
- ③ At least 5 seconds
- ④ At least 20 seconds
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Answer: ④ At least 20 seconds
Key point: Handwashing takes at least 20 seconds
The whole handwashing process should take at least 20 seconds: wet, apply soap, scrub for 10 to 15 seconds, rinse, and dry.
Wrong choices
- At least 10 seconds: Ten seconds is too short for the whole process. Scrubbing alone takes 10 to 15 seconds.
- Only as long as it takes to rinse: Rinsing alone does not remove germs. You must scrub with soap.
- At least 5 seconds: Five seconds is far too short to remove germs.
Question 2. What is the first step in washing your hands?
- ① Put soap on dry hands
- ② Dry your hands with a paper towel
- ③ Scrub your hands and arms
- ④ Wet your hands and arms with clean, warm running water
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Answer: ④ Wet your hands and arms with clean, warm running water
Key point: Wet, soap, scrub, rinse, dry
Handwashing steps in order:
- Wet hands and arms with clean, warm running water.
- Apply soap.
- Scrub hands and arms for 10 to 15 seconds, including between fingers and under nails.
- Rinse under clean running water.
- Dry with a single-use paper towel or a hand dryer.
Wrong choices
- Put soap on dry hands: Soap goes on after you wet your hands.
- Dry your hands with a paper towel: Drying is the last step.
- Scrub your hands and arms: Scrubbing comes after wetting and adding soap.
Question 3. Where should you wash your hands at work?
- ① In the three-compartment sink used for dishes
- ② In the sink used to prepare food
- ③ In a sink used only for handwashing
- ④ In the mop (service) sink
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Answer: ③ In a sink used only for handwashing
Key point: Wash hands only at a handwashing sink
Wash your hands only in a sink set aside for handwashing. Never use sinks for food prep, dishwashing, or mop water, because germs from your hands could get onto food or dishes.
Wrong choices
- In the three-compartment sink used for dishes: Washing hands there can spread germs to clean dishes.
- In the sink used to prepare food: Washing hands there can spread germs to food.
- In the mop (service) sink: The mop sink is for dirty water and cleaning tools.