IPC AND FOOD HANDLING IN THE LIFECARE HOSPITAL BUNGOMA; CATERING DEPARTMENT

Mishandling of food services has been associated with serious cases of food poisoning within food
establishments. Food may be contaminated with harmful bacteria, either directly by an infected food
handler, or indirectly through contact with a food contact surface that has been contaminated by an
infected food handler.

Contaminated food can also transmit virus and parasitic infections. Consequences of an outbreak of
food poisoning in a health facility can be life threatening for susceptible patients. Poor hygiene in the
system of preparation and distribution of food, poor personal hygiene of food handlers as well as food
safety pose significant risk of the development of food borne infections in hospital settings.

Preparation of food requires attention to raw materials, personal hygiene, kitchen hygiene and
especially time and temperature control of all food-handling operations including cooking, cooling,
reheating and distribution. Assuring safe food requires management and control of microbiological,
chemical and physical hazards. Food from outside such as that delivered by relatives or bought from
food outlets next to the health facilities should be discouraged as it could be a possible source of
infection if it is contaminated. Each facility should have clean portable water for drinking, cooking and
cleaning.

Certification of Health Facility Food Handlers

These food handlers must be trained on food management and they must undergo the required medical
checkups, vaccinations and certification before they are permitted to handle patient food.
Asymptomatic food handlers are known to cause very serious food borne disease outbreaks.

No person suffering from, or being a carrier of a disease likely to be transmitted through food or
afflicted, for example, with infected wounds, skin infections, sores or diarrhea is to be permitted to
handle food or enter any food-handling area in any capacity if there is any likelihood of direct or indirect
contamination.

Personal Hygiene Procedures by Hospital Food Handler

 Thoroughly Wash your hands frequently and particularly before and after handling food and
after using the toilet and dry them again frequently during work.
 Dry your hands with clean towels, disposable paper towels or under an air dryer.
 Never smoke, chew gum, spit, change a baby’s nappy or eat in a food handling or food storage
area.
 Never cough or sneeze over food or where food is prepared or stored.
 Wear clean protective clothing, such as an apron. All food handlers must wear a clean single use
plastic disposable apron, which is exclusively used for food handling.
 Keep your spare clothes and other personal items away from where food is stored and
prepared.
 Hair should be clean, and if you have long hair, tie it back or cover it. Head caps should be worn
at all times.
 Report any skin, nose, and throat or bowel trouble to the Ward nurse or to your Supervisor.
IPC AND FOOD HANDLING IN THE LIFECARE HOSPITAL BUNGOMA; CATERING DEPARTMENT

 If you have cuts or wounds, make sure they are completely covered by a waterproof wound
strip or a bandage. Use brightly colored wound strips, so they can be seen easily if they fall off.
 Wear disposable gloves over the top of the wound strip if you have wounds on your hands.
 No jewelry other than a single wedding band and sleeper style earrings without studs should be
worn
 Keep your nails short so they are easy to clean, and don’t wear nail polish and cosmetic false
nails as these can chip into the food.
 Every food handler has a legal responsibility to safeguard food so that it does not cause illness
or harm. and in the eyes of the law anyone who either prepares, cooks or serves food is deemed
as a “FOOD HANDLER”

Food Handling; Follow these guidelines when handling food

 Keep food covered, dated and stored at the correct temperature i.e. in the refrigerator between
+1ºC and +4 ºC.
 Do not leave food of any kind exposed and uncovered anywhere in the kitchen.
 Food that has been heated up should be served immediately.
 Hot food should not be retained on the ward for periods longer than 2 hours.
 Cold food should be stored in the refrigerator. The ward refrigerator procedure must be
followed at all time and the temperature should be recorded twice daily

Food Premises and Ward Kitchens

 Drainage should be designed to prevent waste from a contaminated area draining towards a
clean area.
 Toilets should not open directly into any room where food is handled.
 Hand basins should be located conveniently and used for hand washing only.
 Separate sinks for washing food should be available.
 All cleaning and sanitizing should be carried out in accordance with the ward based cleaning
specification.
 Separate color coded equipment and cloths should be used for cleaning the ward kitchen.
 Food preparation surfaces should always be clean and dry. Before and after any food
preparation takes place, the whole surface must be cleaned thoroughly and then sanitized with
a recommended antiseptic solution.

Food Storage in a Health Facility Setting

 All food storage areas should be clean, dry and regularly checked for any sign of pests.
IPC AND FOOD HANDLING IN THE LIFECARE HOSPITAL BUNGOMA; CATERING DEPARTMENT

 Cooked or perishable food should not be left at room temperature for more than two hours,
and should be prepared or supplied fresh each day.
 All food should be kept covered to protect it from flies and dust.
 Non-perishable foods should be stored safely in a closed, dry, well-ventilated store and
protected from rodents and insects.
 Food should not be stored in the same room as pesticides, disinfectants or any other toxic
chemicals. Containers that have previously held toxic chemicals should not be used for storing
foodstuffs.
 Food should be protected from insects, rodents and other animals, which frequently carry
pathogenic organisms and are a potential source of contamination of food.
 Good stock rotation should be applied i.e. “first in first out” and attention must be paid to “use
by dates” and “best before date”. Food that has gone beyond the use by date should be
discarded.
 Food storage containers must be washed and dried regularly. The contents should be used up
completely before re- filling no “topping up”
 If a patient is not available at mealtime, the meal must be refrigerated and cooked at a more
convenient time.
 Bulk food can only be held in the hot trolley until the Porter removes the trolley from the ward,
this meal should then be discarded.
 Staff are not permitted to consume any food or drink that is intended for patients.
 The water tank must be emptied, cleaned and dried daily and the trolley itself should be
cleaned thoroughly once weekly.

Food Handling Equipment

 Avoid touching the food by hand, use utensils such as forks, tongs or slices.
 All equipment should be kept off the floor.
 Defects or faults in mechanical or electrical equipment must be reported to the maintenance
Department and the item taken out of use immediately. No attempts should be made to repair
of dismantle any electrical or mechanical equipment.
 Empty cans and food containers must be promptly disposed of as domestic waste.
 Good personal hygiene practices can be carried out effectively by ensuring the wash hand
basins are kept clear for use and that hand cleaning and drying equipment are always available.

Transportation of Food
Porters involved in the delivery and collection of food trolleys are deemed to be “Food
Handlers”. All Porters must be made aware of these guidelines and they should be
incorporated into the induction of all new employees.

DELIVEREY AND COLLECTION OF FOOD TROLLEYS

 Food should be kept in the trolley for the shortest time possible.
 The trolley should be plugged in at the time of arrival and food served as soon as possible.
 Great care should be taken in the delivery and collection of food trolleys, in order to minimize
risks whilst in transit to patients, visitors, staff and infrastructure.
 It is essential that the food be delivered to its destination without spillage or breakage etc.
IPC AND FOOD HANDLING IN THE LIFECARE HOSPITAL BUNGOMA; CATERING DEPARTMENT

 Trolleys should be delivered to the ward as quickly and safely as possible, ensuring that the
trolley doors remain shut at all times.
 Porters must inform a member of the Nursing staff as soon as the trolley is delivered to the
ward.
 The temperature of incoming foods must be checked and recorded.
 If applicable, the trolley must be plugged into the appropriate wall socket as soon as it arrives
on the ward.
 If trolleys are damaged during transit, this should be reported immediately in all instances to
the onsite Catering Manager and the maintenance Department.
 All food containers must be lidded and transported inside the trolley.
 If any spillages occur during transit, this should be reported immediately to the Catering
Manager. The spillage should be made safe and a warning sign or cone put in place until the
spillage can be cleaned up thoroughly.
 In circumstances where the collection of a trolley is not possible due to late meal service, the
Porter must liaise with the Nursing staff and agree a later time for collection.