Maintain personal hygiene for food safety in a logistics environment

This standard is about maintaining personal hygiene for food safety in a logistics environment. 

It covers the knowledge and skills required of workers in the logistics sector who handle food. It is a legal requirement for all businesses that handle food (including food, drink and animal feeds) to have Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) embedded into their operating and management systems.

This standard is relevant to all those who handle food in a logistics environment including transport, warehousing and storage.

1.    maintain the health and safety of yourself and others at all times, in line with the relevant legislation and organisational requirements
2.    assess the risks associated with the work before starting and throughout the activity, take action to minimise risks where possible and report in line with organisational procedures
3.    confirm that the required personal protective equipment (PPE) for the work being carried out is worn at all times in line with organisational procedures
4.    confirm that the relevant training has been received to carry out the work, recognise the limits of your competence and seek access to further training where required
5.    keep your hair, skin and nails clean and in the required condition for working with food, in line with organisational requirements
6.    follow organisational requirements on what jewellery and accessories can be worn
7.    wash your hands at the right times using the correct methods in line with organisational requirements
8.    wear clean clothes and make sure that PPE used is clean and hygienic, in line with organisational requirements
9.    avoid unsafe behaviour that could contaminate the food you are working with
10.    report any open wounds, skin infections and infectious illnesses promptly to the appropriate person, in line with organisational requirements
11.    make sure that any open wounds and skin infections are treated and covered with a suitable dressing

1.    your responsibilities under the relevant health and safety legislation and the organisational requirements
2.    how to identify hazards and assess risks associated with the work to be carried out, and the suitable control measures and Safe Systems of Work (SSoW) that can be put in place to reduce risks
3.    the relevant personal protective equipment (PPE) that should be worn when working with food
4.    how clean hair, skin, nails and clothing contribute to food safety
5.    how the wearing of jewellery and other accessories can put food safety at risk
6.    the right times to wash your hands, and how to wash them effectively
7.    what is considered unsafe behaviour when you are working with or near food and why this must be avoided
8.    why you must report any open wounds, skin infections and infectious illnesses, and who is the appropriate person to report them to
9.    what infectious illnesses should be reported
10.    why it is important to have open wounds and skin infections treated and covered with a suitable dressing

Accessories: additional items apart from clothing

Health and safety includes mental and physical wellbeing

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Clothing the company provides for you for food safety reasons, which could include trousers, tops such as jackets or tabards, coats, disposable gloves, headgear such as caps or hairnets

Safe System of Work (SSoW) is a method of work that puts in place control measures arising from a risk assessment, in order to manage identified hazards, which are broken down into four elements: safe person; safe equipment; safe place; and safe practice.