Several common methods for maintaining employee cleanliness exist. First, the areas directly in and around where employees enter the production environment must be kept clean. Clear expectations and procedures around handwashing must be set, and a good personal protective equipment (PPE) program must be in place. Lastly, it is crucial that processors have easily accessible and common locations for handwashing and as well as donning and doffing PPE.
“There will always be pitfalls to employee hygiene because everyone has a different interpretation of clean,” says Lee Johnson, vice president of technical services for West Liberty Foods, West Liberty, Iowa. “It is important for each company to train and set a basic level of expectations needed in high-care areas. From my standpoint there are no new major challenges. It is a continuous and evolving process of training and education.”