Photo: Nails are not trimmed and there is dirt underneath the nails.
Personal hygiene is one of the important factors one should consider when handling food.
As shown in the photo above, that person's nails were not trimmed and had dirt underneath the nails while he was handling the shallots. The dirt under his nails may contain many different kinds of microorganisms and of which, may contain pathogens, the cause of food contamination.
Contaminated food are mainly the cause of foodborne illnesses. Foodborne illnesses are diseases which are transmitted or carried to people by food. When consumers eat the food which is contaminated, they may get infected by the disease and may lead to a foodborne illness outbreak. There are many negative impacts on our society when there is a foodborne illness outbreak. We will have to pay for medical expenses and in serious cases, it may even cause death. Companies may lose their reputation, prestige, customers, have negative media coverage and may even lead to the closure of the food establishment. They will also have to spend more money and time on retraining their employees.
In order to prevent such from happening, we must make sure that we ensure good personal hygiene in everyone. Companies should set up appropriate food safety programs for their employees to attend and for us, we should do our part and make sure that our nails are trimmed and that we wash our hands thoroughly before handling food.
Other than poor personal hygiene , does untrimmed fingernails affect anything else ?
ReplyDeleteOther than poor personal hygiene, untrimmed fingernails may also be a physical hazard. You may accidentally cut your nail when chopping food and the nail may land into the food. Also, you may injure yourself or others when your nails are untrimmed. In conclusion, personal hygiene is a major part of kitchen food safety as bacteria are everywhere. If we do not maintain good personal hygiene, we may be carriers of foodbourne illnesses as we will have many bacteria on our hands and clothes which may be transmitted into the food and contaminate the food. Therefore, we should be wary of our personal hygiene in order to keep our food safe.
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