What are the 6 responsibilities of a food handler?

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What is a food handler?

A food handler is anyone who works in a food business that:

• handles food
• works with surfaces that are likely to be in contact with food such as cutlery, plates and bowls.

A food handler may do many different things for a food business. Examples include making, cooking, preparing, serving, packing, displaying and storing food. Food handlers can also be involved in manufacturing, producing, collecting, extracting, processing, transporting, delivering, thawing or preserving food.

Responsibilities

A food handler must maintain good personal hygiene and have safe habits to protect the community from getting foodborne illnesses.

Some simple ways to prevent foodborne illness are:

Do

• wash your hands regularly with soap and warm running water
• wear clean clothing and apron
• minimise unnecessary contact with food
• cover wounds with waterproof bandages

Do not

• work if you are sick – especially if you have vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, a sore throat with a fever
• touch your mouth, nose and eyes
• sneeze, cough or blow over unprotected food or surfaces
• spit, smoke or use tobacco where food is handled

Read more about the health and hygiene responsibilities of food handlers.

Training

Food handlers do not need formal training. It is up to the business to make sure food handlers have the skills and knowledge to do their job safely.

You may:

• have staff compete the free online training program DoFoodSafely
• provide food safety and hygiene information for staff to read
• develop operating rules that set out responsibilities of food handlers and their supervisors
• provide ‘in-house’ training by the supervisor or other staff
• send staff to food safety courses run by other people
• hire a consultant to run a course for the staff
• have staff complete the free online allergen training All about allergens

DoFoodSafely is a free online learning program designed to help food handlers understand how to safely work with, and handle, food. It takes approximately 30 minutes to complete and is available in English, including Vietnamese, Chinese (Traditional) and Arabic. Users can choose to undertake an quiz to gain a certificate of completion.

More information

Read more from Food Standards Australia and New Zealand about:

• Health and hygiene responsibilities of food handlers
• Skills for food handlers

Last updated:19 October 2021

Food handlers have a responsibility to make sure that they do not contaminate food and make it unsafe or unsuitable for consumption. Food handlers also have specific responsibilities related to their health and hygiene. 

Who is a Food Handler? 

A food handler is a person who works in a food business or handles food or touches surfaces that are likely to be in contact with food. In a food business, a food handler may be employed for various tasks such as making, cooking, preparing, serving, packing, storing food, manufacturing, producing, processing, treating, transporting, delivering, thawing or preserving food.  Due to these reasons, the Health of Food Handlers becomes very important.

Personal Hygiene of Food Handlers A food handler MUST: 

• Wash their hands before starting their work i.e., before handling food and before putting on gloves; 
• Wash their hands, using soap and warm running water in the handwashing facilities provided, after using the toilet, smoking, coughing, sneezing, blowing nose, touching body parts, handling waste or performing cleaning duties. Also, make sure that the hands are dried thoroughly with disposable paper towels or hand dryer; 
• Make sure measures are taken to prevent unnecessary contact with food; 
• Restrain hair with hair caps and tie back long hair; 
• Make to remove hair clips, hairpins, buttons on clothes, jewellery, bandages before entering the food business premises;
• Make sure bandages or dressings on any exposed parts of the body are covered with a waterproof covering. 

A food handler MUST NOT:

• Blow, cough or sneeze over uncovered food or surfaces likely to come into contact with food; 
• Eat over uncovered food or surfaces likely to come into contact with food; 
• Spit, smoke, consume tobacco or similar preparations in areas where food is handled; 
• Touch food after touching any body part or money and before washing hands; 
• Wear jewellery on hands and wrists;

 If the food handlers start having symptoms of food-borne disease, must report to the supervisor that he or she is suffering from the disease and avoid engaging in any food handling.