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National Food Safety Month: Food Safety Is in Your Team’s Hands
Sep 23, 2026
For Week 4 of National Food Safety Month, the Recipe for Food Safety Success focuses on personal hygiene, one of the most important ingredients in protecting guests and maintaining trust.
Every day, your team’s habits can either strengthen food safety or create risks. Proper handwashing, appropriate glove use and following employee illness policies are simple actions that can have a big impact on the safety of every meal served.
Start with Proper Handwashing
Handwashing is one of the most important ways food handlers can help prevent the spread of foodborne illness. Make sure your team knows the five steps to proper handwashing:
- Wet hands and arms under running water.
- Lather with enough soap to create a good lather.
- Scrub vigorously for at least 20 seconds, including fingertips, under fingernails and between fingers.
- Rinse thoroughly under running water.
- Dry with a single-use paper towel or hand dryer. Use a paper towel to turn off the faucet and, when appropriate, open the restroom door.
Remind employees to wash their hands when starting a shift, changing tasks, after using the restroom, handling raw food, touching their face or hair, coughing or sneezing, and whenever their hands may have become contaminated.
Personal hygiene goes beyond handwashing. Employees should arrive ready to work in clean clothing and proper hair coverings, keep nails clean, cover wounds and avoid wearing loose jewelry. Employees who are sick or experiencing symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea or jaundice should follow the operation’s illness policy and stay home when required.
Restaurant leaders set the standard. Model good hygiene practices, keep handwashing stations properly stocked and reinforce expectations during pre-shift meetings and routine training.
The Week 4 Personal Hygiene Bundle includes a recipe card, handwashing and hygiene posters, and a Shift Meeting Brief to help you turn these expectations into everyday habits.
Set the standard. Reinforce the habits. Keep food safety in your team’s hands.