ServSafe Manager Hygiene and Health Summary

The whole handwashing process should take at least 20 seconds. Scrubbing hands and arms with soap should last 10 to 15 seconds.

Wrong choices

• At least 5 seconds: 5 seconds is far too short to remove germs.
• At least 10 seconds: Scrubbing alone should last 10 to 15 seconds, but the whole process takes at least 20 seconds.
• At least 2 minutes: Two minutes is not required. At least 20 seconds is the standard.

Handwashing steps:

1. Wet hands and arms with running warm water.
2. Apply soap.
3. Scrub hands and arms for 10 to 15 seconds, including between fingers and under nails.
4. Rinse under running water.
5. Dry with a single-use paper towel or a hand dryer.

Wrong choices

• Scrub hands with soap for 10 to 15 seconds: You scrub after wetting your hands and applying soap.
• Dry hands with a single-use paper towel: Drying comes near the end.
• Rinse hands under running water: Rinsing comes after scrubbing.

Change single-use gloves as soon as they become dirty or torn, before starting a different task, after an interruption (like answering the phone), after handling raw meat, seafood, or poultry and before handling ready-to-eat food, and, following ServSafe guidance, after four hours of continuous use on the same task.

Wrong choices

• Only at the end of the shift: Gloves must be changed much more often than once a shift.
• Only after taking out the garbage: That is one time, but not the only one.
• Never, if they are washed between tasks: Single-use gloves must not be washed and reused.

Jaundice (yellow skin or eyes) can be a sign of Hepatitis A. A food handler with jaundice that started within the last seven days must be excluded from the operation, and the manager must report it to the regulatory authority.

Wrong choices

• A runny nose with no fever: A runny nose alone does not require exclusion.
• A healed cut covered with a bandage and glove: A covered wound is managed by covering it, not by exclusion.
• Mild seasonal allergies: Allergies are not a foodborne illness symptom.

Food handlers with vomiting or diarrhea must be excluded. In general they can return after they have had no symptoms for at least 24 hours or have a written medical release.

Wrong choices

• As soon as they feel well enough to work: Feeling better is not enough. They need 24 hours without symptoms (or a medical note).
• After they have had no symptoms for 2 hours: Two hours is far too short.
• After 7 days, no matter what: Seven days applies to jaundice, not to vomiting and diarrhea.

The Food Code lists illnesses that food handlers must report to the person in charge: Norovirus, Hepatitis A, Shigella spp., Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Salmonella Typhi (typhoid fever), and nontyphoidal Salmonella. When a food handler is diagnosed with one of these, the person in charge must notify the regulatory authority and exclude or restrict the worker as the Food Code requires (for example, Hepatitis A and Salmonella Typhi mean exclusion).

Wrong choices

• The common cold: A cold is not on the list of reportable foodborne illnesses.
• Seasonal flu without vomiting or diarrhea: Influenza is not one of the reportable foodborne illnesses in the Food Code.
• A sprained wrist: An injury is not a foodborne illness.

While preparing food, food handlers should not wear rings (except a plain band), bracelets, watches, or other jewelry on the hands and arms. Jewelry can hold germs and fall into food.

Wrong choices

• A watch: Watches can hold germs and fall into food.
• A bracelet: Bracelets are not allowed.
• A ring with a stone: Rings with stones can hide germs and the stone can fall into food.

Sneezing or coughing can put germs on the hands. Food handlers must wash their hands right after sneezing, coughing, or using a tissue.

Wrong choices

• Wipe their hands on a towel: Wiping does not remove germs.
• Put on gloves without washing: Hands must be washed before putting on gloves.
• Keep working if they feel fine: Sneezing can put germs on the hands, so they must wash.

Hand antiseptics can be used after washing hands, but they never replace handwashing. Let the sanitizer dry before touching food or equipment.

Wrong choices

• In place of handwashing when the sink is busy: Hand sanitizer does not replace handwashing.
• Only before touching raw meat: Sanitizer is not a substitute for washing at any time.
• Whenever hands look clean: Clean-looking hands can still carry germs; washing comes first.

ServSafe teaches that when doing the same task continuously, food handlers should change gloves at least every four hours. They should also wash their hands before putting on new gloves.

Wrong choices

• Rinse the gloves in sanitizer and keep working: Single-use gloves must never be washed and reused.
• Keep working; gloves are only changed when torn: ServSafe guidance also calls for changing gloves after four hours of continuous use.
• Put a second pair of gloves over the first pair: Double gloving does not replace changing gloves.