Page 31 - FoodFocusThailand No.209 AUGUST 2023

SPECIAL FOCUS
“Personal Hygiene”

is the Fundamental Issue

in Quality Food Production

Safety and hygiene management are essential considerations and no compromise in the food industry.
Food manufacturers must set preventive measures to prevent contamination in every food processing step
to ensure the highest quality and safe products for consumers.

When it comes to the food processing industry, to wear and maintain uniforms correctly. The case studies of
quality, efficiency, and contamination reduction are the contamination from workers into food products that happened
primary safety priorities, whether for small, medium- in the factories should be one of the topics in each training
sized, or large enterprises. They must have session.
comprehensive regulations for safety. Personal hygiene Personal hygiene is part of the GHP standard that requires
is a fundamental aspect of safety that manufacturers a policy from management and appropriately supporting
must emphasize, and employees must be trained resources so employees can work conveniently and maintain
regularly. The potential for contamination is a hazard the safety standards in the food factory.
that is mostly unique to the food processing industry,
and it is often contaminated by employees working in
the production lines, such as dust, foreign matter, hair,
etc. The proper worker's clothes specifically designed More Information Service Info C003
can reduce the potential for contamination.
The principles requirements of working apparel
according to the Good Hygiene Practices (GHP) are
as follow.
• Workers' Uniforms: They must be designed and
suitably sized for each operator to work comfortably.
The workers' clothes should be produced from unique
fabrics that do not cause contamination of food
products, including not affecting their health; for
example, lint-free, anti-static, and dust filters to prevent
dust or fibers from the fabric from contamination in food
products. In addition, materials with water-reflection
properties that are easy to clean and maintain hygiene
should be considered. The hood used to cover workers'
hair must be a specialized hood that can gather hair or
eyebrows completely to prevent hair or eyebrows from
falling into the product.
• Laundry system in the factory: Food factories
must have laundry standards for workers' clothes—
appropriate detergent in the food industry must be
carefully selected to keep the clothes clean, safe, and
ready to use.
• Verification of the cleanliness and efficiency
of the laundry process: Inspectors should always
check the cleanliness of work clothes, including
verification to confirm the efficiency of the laundry
process either inside the factory or by permitted external
providers.
• Employee training: The company must
organize training sessions on personal hygiene
practices to communicate well with employees on how

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