What should food workers do before preparing food to ensure safety?

Before preparing food, food workers should wash their hands thoroughly to ensure safety. This practice is essential because proper handwashing effectively removes dirt, bacteria, and other pathogens that can contaminate food. It involves using soap and water and scrubbing hands for at least 20 seconds, paying attention to areas like between fingers, under nails, and around the wrists.

Thorough handwashing significantly reduces the risk of transmitting foodborne illnesses, as many pathogens are transferred from hands to food during preparation. While wearing gloves can help protect food from contamination, it is still crucial for food workers to wash their hands beforehand to prevent cross-contamination. Hand sanitizers, while useful as an additional measure, cannot replace the efficacy of washing hands with soap and water. Rinsing hands in clean water does not provide the effective removal of pathogens that thorough washing does. Therefore, washing hands thoroughly is the most critical step before handling food.