Hygiene Practices for Farm Workers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Vance NK
• Description:
  According to the US Department of Agriculture, good hygiene among farm workers is critical in assuring a safe workplace and a safe product. Hands can introduce physical adulterants or contaminate food with pathogens which can cause gastrointestinal or respiratory disease. Farm Worker Hand Washing Policies: Instruct workers how to properly wash their hands prior to handling produce, or after an activity in which hands can potentially become contaminated. Some activities may include: after using the bathroom, when hands are visibly dirty and/or when working with animal manure. Expectations for proper hand washing should be clearly made at employee orientation and/or meetings, in employee manuals, and through signage. Hand Washing Basics: All workers should be trained and understand proper hand washing techniques. Landowners and managers should explain the following steps: Wet hands. Cold water is fine. Apply a liquid or powdered soap (this should be unscented but does not need to be antimicrobial). Scrub hands including between fingers, backs of hands, wrists and under nails (this part should take 15-20 seconds). Rinse hands until no soap remains. Dry hands with a single-use paper towel. Single-use towel is important so that employees don't wipe their hands on their clothing as a method of drying and inadvertently contaminate their hands. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Farmers Health Promotion Occupational Health Public Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Workers Disease Prevention Farm Workers Hand Washing Health Promotion Public Health Safety Education Safety Practices
• Publisher:
  The Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention, and Education
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053298
• Citation:
  Monthly Safety Blast. Tyler, TX: The Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention, and Education, 2016 Nov; :website
• Email:
  agcenter@uthct.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Texas Health Center at Tyler
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  Monthly Safety Blast
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f4bda7f8f9bfb91e0e74240d95cc0d969ef23d8c06f73912a0f48d5d3534afe1a7120db0460efff9743eea0332808a56ff751882518381c94a8c930d05f55b5e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216088/cdc_216088_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 335.32 KB ]