No bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food
Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, the Minnesota food code will formally prohibit bare hand contact with food that is ready-to-eat. Ready-to-eat food “means food that is edible without additional preparation to achieve food safety…” See Minnesota Food Code 4626.0020, subpart 67.
Human hands are one of the main sources of food contamination
This change deals with one of the main sources of food contamination, human hands. When you and your employees control potential contamination from hands, food is safer. Safer food reduces foodborne illness. You can help keep individuals in a highly susceptible population from becoming ill when you make sure you never use bare hands to handle food.
Single-use gloves, tongs and deli tissue are used to add letuce and other ready-to-eat vegetables to a sandwich.
Prevent bare hand contact
After Jan. 1, all food establishments must prevent bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food. Here is a summary of requirements.
Ready-to-eat food:
- No bare hand contact allowed.
- Use deli tissues, spatulas, tongs, single use gloves, dispensing equipment.
Not-ready-to-eat food:
- Minimize direct contact with bare hands or arms.
Bare hand contact when handling ingredients
If you are adding ready-to-eat food as an ingredient to a food item that you will cook, you may use bare hands. Remember to always cook those foods to required temperatures and times.
Examples include:
- Adding cheese or other ready-to-eat toppings to a pizza dough.
- Adding vegetables to a raw meat dish before cooking.
Written procedures may allow for an exception
If your establishment does not serve a highly susceptible population, you may want to consider this exception. To qualify, you must meet certain conditions. Your establishment will need to have specific, written procedures.
They include:
- A list of ready-to-eat food touched by bare hands.
- A written employee health policy.
- Documentation of training, corrective actions and additional safeguards such as double hand washing.
Requirements for this option are complex. Food establishments may contact their inspector for detailed requirements.
Learn more about preventing contamination from hands
Nail brushes out, hand dryers in
Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, the Minnesota food code will no longer require nail brushes at handwashing sinks. Also, heated-air and air-knife hand dryers are now allowed at handwashing sinks in the kitchen.
No more nail brushes!
Because nail brushes can be a source of contamination if not properly maintained, hands may be cleaner when food employees wash without using a nail brush. Cleaner hands spread less disease.
After Jan. 1, operators will no longer be required to provide or maintain nail brushes at handwashing sinks.
New technology dries hands safely
Hand dryers or individual disposable towels both get the job done, when used properly.
You have several options for drying hands at a handwashing sink:
- Individual, disposable towels.
- Heated-air hand dryer.
- Hand dryer with an air-knife system that delivers high velocity, pressurized air.
- Continuous towel system that supplies the user with a clean towel.
Learn more about handwashing
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