Hello again.
Now that you know the basics of protective clothing and its importance for food safety,
let's unpack the expectations around developing an effective
protective clothing procedure.
Your protective clothing procedure needs to
to clearly explain what types of protective clothing will be used
throughout the facility, who will need to use it, and for what purposes.
You'll need to describe how this applies to staff,
as well as visitors and contractors.
The procedure also needs to identify how the protective
clothing will be stored, maintained
and cleaned so that it doesn't present a contamination risk
to any products on site.
You need to communicate your site's protective clothing requirements and their importance to your staff.
Staff should be educated on what to wear and how to wear it.
You should incorporate this as part of your induction and ongoing training programs
and also provide on the floor resources like signage
to remind staff of what is required in particular areas.
Like all elements of your approved arrangement,
your protective clothing procedure will need to be internally audited
at least once a year to verify its effectiveness.
When developing and reviewing your procedure, you should consider the following.
Is the colour and type of protective clothing appropriate for your establishment?
Does it show stains easily so the wearer can be informed when a uniform change is necessary?
What disposable Personal Protective Equipment, also known as PPE,
does your site require, and are these captured as part of the procedure?
Do different areas have different protective clothing requirements based on contamination risk?
If so, how will you control this and communicate it to staff and visitors?
How often should your protective clothing be cleaned?
Who will be responsible for this and how will you know that the cleaning has been effective?
Where will PPE items and uniforms be stored
so that they are protected from contamination?
What other personal items
might you want to consider and assess as part of the protective clothing?
Examples are beanies and thermal wear.
What actions will be taken
if protective clothing requirements are not being adhered to?
What records will you need to keep as evidence
that your protective clothing procedure is effective?
For example, cleaning, inspections,
internal reviews, and training?
Just as you need to describe what should be worn on the premises,
you also need to identify what is not allowed
to be taken into certain areas.
This might include items like jewellery and street clothing,
which could present a contamination risk.
Remember, the implementation and monitoring of your protective clothing procedure
to ensure that it meets the requirements
is your site's responsibility,
so take time to plan,
review, and implement a procedure,
that is fit for purpose and delivers the outcome you desire.