Watch out for these signs

There are a number of subtle and obvious signs, practices that the consumer can and should look for in a restaurant related to the personal hygiene of the food handlers. The following list of practices or requirements is designed to prevent or minimize contamination of food, either directly from the food handler, or from cross-contamination from other sources. Review each one and make a mental note to remember to look for the next time you are patronizing a restaurant, a cafe or a take away outlet.

* Look for clean clothing and aprons and hair restraints, either a hat or hair-net to hold all the hair in place for anyone handling or processing open, exposed food.

* Utensils are either required or recommended when processing or handling food. A utensil, instead of the hands, should be used as much as possible during processing.

* Employees serving or placing ready-to-eat food on tableware or containers, or assembling ready-to-eat food should always use tongs, forks, spoons, or gloves rather than bare hands.

* Makeup, perfume and jewelry can also contaminate your food and should be kept to a minimum on all food handlers.

* Smoking, or any form of tobacco use, by employees is definitely not allowed in any area where food is prepared, served, or stored, or utensils are cleaned or stored, for two important reasons. (1) A person smoking can easily pick up saliva on his or her hands by touching his or her mouth or touching the cigarette that just came from their mouth. This saliva is then passed on to your food as soon as this food handler touches it; (2) The ashes and cigarette butts left behind may be dropped or spilled and thereby mixed into and contaminate your food.

* Obviously employees who are ill cannot work in any way with exposed food. Symptoms to look out for are persistent sneezing, coughing, or runny nose, or discharges from the eyes, nose, or mouth.

* Look for cross-contamination. If you can see into the kitchen or processing area, you can observe how the employees handle raw products, especially meat, chicken and seafood products in relation to cooked or ready-to-eat products, such as salads. They should never use the same utensils, cutting boards, plates, platters or their hands for handling raw product and then turn around and use the same utensil or equipment or hand for handling cooked or ready-to-eat products (known as cross-contamination) without both washing and sanitizing in between. Cross contamination is a very common and serious hazard and is a leading cause of food-borne illnesses.