Personal hygiene practices underpin a range of service industry activities. They are particularly important within a food safety regime, but can also apply to housekeeping activities and anywhere where poor hygiene could provide a contamination risk. Poor hygiene practices can risk the health of customers, colleagues and self.

For the purposes of food safety, this unit only has application to hospitality, commercial catering and retail venues where food is stored, prepared, displayed and served. It will apply to any venue that operates a permanent or temporary kitchen or smaller food preparation area, such as restaurants, cafes, clubs, hotels, attractions, events and conference venues, fast food restaurants, retail food outlets such as sandwich shops and food court outlets. It would apply to tour operators involved in the preparation and service of food at temporary sites.

Other industries will need to access industry-specific food safety units of competency.

This unit applies to frontline operational personnel who work under close supervision and guidance from others during the normal course of their daily activities. They would be required to apply little discretion and judgement because they operate within predefined organisational hygiene procedures. Personal hygiene practices apply to all personnel operating at all levels within the service industries, such as kitchen hands, cooks, chefs, catering staff, food and beverage attendants, housekeeping and, laundry staff, sandwich hands, cafe and fast food outlet cooking crew and sales people and owner-operators of small business catering operations or retail food outlets.

Nil

ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1

Follow hygiene procedures and identify hygiene hazards.

1.1

Access and follow hygieneprocedures and policies correctly and consistently according to organisation and legal requirements to ensure health and safety of customers and colleagues.

1.2

Identify and report poor organisation practices that are inconsistent with hygiene procedures.

1.3

Identify hygiene hazards that may affect the health and safety of customers, colleagues and self.

1.4

Take action to remove or minimise the hazards within scope of individual responsibility and according to organisation and legal requirements.

1.5

Promptly report hygiene hazards to appropriate person for follow up where control of hazard is beyond the scope of individual responsibility.

2

Report any personal health issues.

2.1

Report any personal health issues that are likely to cause a hygiene risk.

2.2

Report incidents of food contamination that have resulted from the personal health issue.

2.3

Do not participate in food handling activities where there is a risk of food contamination as a result of the health issue.

3

Prevent food and other item contamination.

3.1

Maintain clean clothes, wear required personal protective clothing and only use organisation-approved bandages and dressings to prevent contamination to food.

3.2

Ensure that no clothing or other items worn contaminate food.

3.3

Prevent unnecessary direct contact with ready to eat food.

3.4

Do not allow food to become contaminated with any body fluids or tobacco product from sneezing, coughing, blowing nose, spitting, smoking or eating over food or food preparation surfaces.

3.5

Maintain the use of clean materials and clothes and safe and hygienic practices to ensure that no cross-contamination of other items in the workplace occurs.

4

Prevent cross-contamination by washing hands.

4.1

Wash handsat appropriate times and follow hand washing procedures correctly and consistently according to organisation and legal requirements.

4.2

Wash hands using appropriate facilities.

This section describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level, required for this unit.

The following skills must be assessed as part of this unit:

communication skills to verbally report hygiene hazards and poor organisation practice

literacy skills to read and interpret relevant organisation policies, procedures and diagrams that identify good hygiene practices.

The following knowledge must be assessed as part of this unit:

very basic understanding of federal, and state or territory food safety legislative compliance requirements, contents of national codes and standards that underpin regulatory requirements, and local government food safety regulations

working knowledge of organisation personal hygiene policies and procedures

ramifications of failure to observe hygiene policies and procedures

broad understanding of the general hazards in handling food, linen, laundry and garbage, including major causes of contamination and cross-infection

sources and effects of microbiological contamination of food and other items that would require protection in the industry sector and business

basic understanding of the choice and application of cleaning and sanitising equipment and materials.

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, the range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

Evidence of the following is essential:

ability to access and interpret hygiene procedures and consistently apply these during day-to-day activities

understanding of the importance of following hygiene procedures and of the potential implications of disregarding those procedures

project or work activities that show the candidate's ability to apply good hygiene practices on multiple occasions in a range of different operational circumstances to ensure consistency in the application of hygiene procedures.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment must ensure:

access to current regulatory documents distributed by key federal, state or territory, and local government agencies such as plain English legislative publications, codes and standards outlining food safety requirements

access to hygiene policies and procedures

project or work activities that show candidates' ability to apply good hygiene practices within the context of the particular industry sector in which they are working or seeking work; for those undertaking generic pre-employment training, assessment must cover a range of industry contexts to allow for a broad range of vocational outcomes

use of real products, materials and equipment.

Methods of assessment

A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:

direct observation of the candidate carrying out work tasks that involve following hygiene procedures

oral and written questions about hygiene principles and practices, policies and procedures

oral or written questions to assess knowledge of food hygiene legislative requirements

case studies to assess ability to react to a range of incidents where hygiene hazards exist

review of portfolios of evidence and third-party workplace reports of on-the-job performance by the candidate.

Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, for example:

SITHACS005A Prepare rooms for guests

SITHACS007A Launder linen and guest clothes

SITXFSA001A Implement food safety procedures.

Assessing employability skills

Employability skills are integral to effective performance in the workplace and are broadly consistent across industry sectors. How these skills are applied varies between occupations and qualifications due to the different work functions and contexts.

Employability skills embedded in this unit should be assessed holistically with other relevant units that make up the skill set or qualification and in the context of the job role.

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording in the performance criteria is detailed below.

Hygiene procedures may relate to:

personal hygiene

safe and hygienic handling of food and beverages

regular hand washing

correct food storage

suitable dress and personal protective equipment and clothing

avoidance of cross-contamination

hygienic cleaning practices to avoid cross-contamination

use of cleaning equipment, clothes and materials to avoid cross-contamination

safe handling and disposal of linen and laundry

appropriate handling and disposal of garbage

cleaning and sanitising

procedures documented in the organisation food safety program

procedures covered by staff training programs

procedures required by the national food safety code.

Poor organisation practices may include:

poor personal hygiene practices

poor food handling practices that may result in the contamination of food

poor cleaning practices that may result in cross-contamination of food and other items

practices inconsistent with the organisation's food safety program

outdated practices not in keeping with current organisation activities.

Hygiene hazards may include:

contaminated food

vermin

airborne dust

items such as linen, tea towels and towels that may be contaminated with human waste, such as blood and body secretions

dirty equipment and utensils

contaminated garbage

use of practices not in keeping with current organisation activities

colleagues without appropriate training or understanding of good hygiene practices, policies and procedures

equipment not working correctly, such as fridge and temperature probes.

Health issues may relate to:

food-borne diseases

airborne diseases

infectious diseases.

Other itemsworn may include:

hair accessories

jewellery

watches

bandages.

Cross-contaminationof other items in the workplace may involve:

infected linen

items such as linen, tea towels and towels that may be contaminated with human waste, such as blood and body secretions

dirty equipment and utensils

spreading bacteria from bathroom or bedroom areas to kitchen areas in an accommodation facility.

Washing handsat appropriate times might include:

immediately before working with food

immediately after handling raw food

before commencing or recommencing work with food

immediately after using the toilet

immediately after smoking, coughing, sneezing, blowing the nose, eating, drinking, and touching the hair, scalp or any wound.

Appropriatefacilities for hand washing may include:

warm running water

soap

single use towels

designated hand washing sink.

Sector

Cross-Sector

Occupational Health and Safety

The required outcomes described in this unit of competency contain applicable facets of employability skills. The Employability Skills Summary of the qualification in which this unit is packaged will assist in identifying employability skills requirements.