Information Sheet on 1.
1-1
Typical hygiene and control procedures in the hospitality and tourism
industries
What Safety and Hygiene in the Hospitality Industry Means For You
Posted by Zosi Team on July 14, 2020
Increased hotel hygiene is the order of the day. Your guests’ expectations for
safety in the hospitality industry are more stringent than ever, but are you
ready to address a broad spectrum of infections beyond coronavirus?
An enhanced hotel sanitation program is a crucial piece of the puzzle to
protecting your consumers and employees.
Keep reading for an overview of the hotel practices needed to lead your team to
sanitation success.
Hand Hygiene
Hand hygiene is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to promote hygiene
in the hotel industry. Guests, staff, and suppliers should wash hands:
Before touching your mouth, nose and throat
Washing hands before handling, preparing or serving food
Using tissue paper to cover your mouth and nose while sneezing and
coughing
After using the toilet
After touching public installations or equipment, such as escalator
handrails, elevator control panels or doorknobs
Respiratory Hygiene
Think of respiratory hygiene, or cough etiquette, as a means of source control –
especially for viruses like COVID-19. Always remember to:
Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing
Use tissue paper to contain respiratory secretions and dispose of them
promptly in lidded bins
Perform hand hygiene steps after hands come into contact with
respiratory secretion
Offer masks to persons with respiratory symptoms when tolerated
Environmental Hygiene
The next step in your hotel sanitation program is environmental hygiene, or the
cleaning protocols applied to physical areas and objects. Think guest rooms,
lobbies, restrooms, and so on. Here, the housekeeping department represents
the core of your efforts.
To perform their jobs effectively, housekeeping needs to follow a specific order
of operations and know what to do when faced with contamination. Our new
Hospitality Management Principles for Preventing the Spread of Infection course
is an excellent resource for this type of granular view.
Linen Management in Your Hotel
Housekeeping must also handle linens with care. Always handle, process, and
transport used linen as little as possible and separately from clean linen.
Special Areas to Consider
Some areas of your hotel require different measures due to their individual
uses. Examples include gyms, spas, and children’s activity areas. Health and
wellness spaces are commonly shared among several people and require an
increased frequency of cleaning. Children’s clubs require heightened attention
to everything from toy choice to cleaning methods.
The Final Word on Hotel Hygiene
Giving your guests and employees peace of mind requires a more rigorous hotel
hygiene routine. On top of elevated sanitation procedures, encourage everyone
to practice hand and respiratory hygiene. To learn more about the detailed
operational alterations needed to show customers your commitment to safety,
check out Zosi’s selection of in-depth eLearning materials.
Self-check on 1.1-1
Typical hygiene and control procedures in the hospitality and tourism
industries
Multiple Choice:
1. Which of the following is NOT a key area of hygiene control in the
hospitality industry?
a. Food safety
b. Personal hygiene
c. Inventory management
d. Cleanliness of facilities
2. What is the primary purpose of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
(HACCP)?
a. To track customer complaints.
b. To identify and control biological, chemical, and physical hazards in
food production.
c. To manage staff schedules.
d. To market new food items.
3. What is a crucial aspect of personal hygiene for food handlers?
a. Wearing appropriate attire, including gloves and hairnets.
b. Using strong perfumes or colognes.
c. Handling money without washing hands.
d. Ignoring minor cuts or wounds.
4. What is the purpose of regular cleaning and sanitizing of food preparation
surfaces?
a. To make the kitchen look nicer.
b. To prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and microorganisms.
c. To reduce food costs.
d. To impress food inspectors.
5. Which of the following is a common method for controlling pest
infestations in hospitality establishments?
a. Regular pest control inspections and treatments.
b. Ignoring pest sightings.
c. Using strong pesticides without proper training.
d. Storing food in open containers.
Answer Key on 1.1-1
Typical hygiene and control procedures in the hospitality and tourism
industries
1. c) Inventory management
2. b) To identify and control biological, chemical, and physical hazards in
food production.
3. a) Wearing appropriate attire, including gloves and hairnets.
4. b) To prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and microorganisms.
5. a) Regular pest control inspections and treatments.
Information Sheet 2.1-2
Overview of legislation and regulation in relation to food handling,
personal and general hygiene
Good personal hygiene can prevent food poisoning.
Bacteria that cause food poisoning can be on everyone – even healthy people.
You can spread bacteria from yourself to the food if you touch your nose,
mouth, hair or your clothes, and then food.
Good personal hygiene also makes good business sense. Customers like to see
food-handling staff who take hygiene seriously and practise safe food handling.
Watch how your co-workers handle food and consider it from a customer’s point
of view. Would you want to eat at, or buy food from, the place you work?
Food handlers – personal hygiene tips
To prevent food poisoning using good personal hygiene, follow these tips:
wash and dry your hands thoroughly before handling food, and wash and
dry them again frequently during work
dry your hands with a clean towel, disposable paper towel 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 being prepared or
stored
wear clean protective clothing, such as an apron
keep your spare clothes and other personal items (including mobile
phones) away from where food is stored and prepared
tie back or cover long hair
keep fingernails short so they are easy to clean, and don’t wear nail polish
because it can chip into the food
avoid wearing jewellery, or only wear plain-banded rings and sleeper
earrings
completely cover all cuts and wounds with a wound strip or bandage
(brightly coloured waterproof bandages are recommended)
wear disposable gloves over the top of the wound strip if you have
wounds on your hands
change disposable gloves regularly
advise your supervisor if you feel unwell, and don’t handle food.
Food handlers – handwashing
Thoroughly washing your hands reduces the chance of contaminating food with
bacteria from yourself.
Wash your hands with soap and warm water, and don’t forget the backs of your
hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
Thoroughly dry your hands immediately after you wash them. Always dry your
hands with a clean towel, disposable paper towel or under an air dryer. The
important thing is to make sure your hands are completely dry. Never use a tea
towel or your clothes to dry your hands.
Wash your hands after:
going to the toilet
handling raw food
blowing your nose
handling garbage
touching your ears, nose, mouth or other parts of the body
smoking
every break
handling animals.
If you are wearing disposable gloves, change them regularly – at the same times
you would normally wash your hands if you weren’t wearing gloves. Wash and
dry your hands before putting on gloves.
Food handler health and working
Food handlers may contaminate food, so employers and employees must be
careful to ensure that no illness is passed on by those working in the industry.
You should not go work if you are vomiting or have diarrhoea. Don’t return to
work until your symptoms have stopped for 48 hours. If you are unsure, you
should contact your doctor for advice.
Do not go to work if you sick with an illness that is likely to be transmitted
through food. Such illnesses include gastroenteritis (often called ‘gastro’) –
including viral gastroenteritis (norovirus or rotavirus) – hepatitis A and hepatitis
E, sore throat with fever, and fever with jaundice.
You must advise your supervisor if you are feeling unwell, including when
suffering from a cold, flu, and sties and other eye infections.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand explains the requirements for food
handlers and food businesses.
Food handlers – skills and knowledge
Food handlers need to know how their actions can affect the safety of the food
they handle.
Food handlers need to know:
how to locate and follow workplace information
about their own food handling operations
how to identify and correct (or report) situations or procedures that do not
meet the business' food safety obligations
who to report food safety issues to within the business
their responsibilities in relation to health and hygiene requirements.
The Australian Food Safety Standard 3.2.2 (Food Safety Practices and General
Requirements) requires that people who handle food must have the appropriate
skills and knowledge for the work they do.
Self-check 2.1-2
Overview of legislation and regulation in relation to food handling,
personal and general hygiene
True or False:
1. Food safety legislation only applies to large food manufacturing
companies. (False)
2. The FDA is responsible for regulating all food products in the United
States, including meat and poultry. (False)
3. The HACCP system is mandatory for all food businesses in the United
States. (False)
4. It is acceptable for food handlers to work while experiencing symptoms of
illness. (False)
5. Regular inspections and audits are conducted to ensure compliance with
food safety regulations. (True)
Answer Key 2.1-2
Overview of legislation and regulation in relation to food handling,
personal and general hygiene
1. False
2. False
3. False
4. False
5. True
Reference:
https://www.zosilearning.com/blog/meaning-safety-and-hygiene-in-hospitality-
industry/
https://www.health.vic.gov.au/food-safety/personal-hygiene-for-food-handlers
