Personal Hygiene
Personal hygiene is the single largest section of California's food handler exam, roughly 18% of all questions. Most foodborne illness outbreaks trace back to a person — not a thermometer, not a refrigerator. This chapter walks through how California's Retail Food Code (Health & Safety Code §113700 and following) wants employees to wash, dress, glove, and behave from the moment they arrive at the door.
The Six-Step Handwash
California requires food employees to use a dedicated handwash sink supplied with soap, single-use towels (or an approved hand-drying device), and running water that reaches at least 100°F. The full process is taught as six steps: wet the hands and forearms with warm running water, apply soap, vigorously scrub all surfaces for 10–15 seconds, rinse thoroughly, dry with a clean single-use towel, and finally use that towel to turn off the faucet before discarding it. The whole sequence takes about 20 seconds.
When Handwashing Is Required
Hands must be washed at the start of a shift and any time they become contaminated. California specifically calls out: before food prep, before putting on gloves, after using the restroom, after sneezing, coughing, or using a tissue, after touching the face, hair, or body, after eating, drinking, or smoking, after handling raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs, after handling chemicals, after taking out garbage, and after handling money. A new handwash is needed any time the employee switches tasks that could cross-contaminate.
Hand Sanitizers Are a Supplement, Not a Substitute
Hand antiseptics are only effective on skin that has already been cleaned. Soap and friction remove the soil; the sanitizer kills a portion of the remaining microbes. Spraying sanitizer on dirty hands, or on used gloves, does very little. California allows hand antiseptics only AFTER a complete handwash, and even then they do not extend the time between washes.
Bare Hands and Ready-to-Eat Foods
A ready-to-eat (RTE) food will not be cooked or otherwise treated to destroy pathogens before it is served. Salad greens, bread, sandwich fillings, garnishes, sliced fruit, and ice are all RTE. California law forbids touching RTE food with bare hands; employees must use a suitable utensil such as tongs, spatulas, deli tissue, single-use gloves, or dispensing equipment.
Glove Use
Gloves are single-task barriers. They are donned over freshly washed hands, used for one job, and discarded — not rinsed, not sprayed, not flipped inside out for re-use. New gloves are required before each new task, any time the gloves tear or contact a soiled surface, and at least every four hours during continuous use. Latex gloves are discouraged in California due to allergy concerns; nitrile or vinyl are common alternatives.
Fingernails, Hair, and Jewelry
Employees working with exposed food must keep fingernails short, clean, and natural — no polish, no acrylics, no gel extensions. Hair must be effectively restrained with a hat, hairnet, visor, or beard guard so that no loose strands fall into food. Jewelry on hands or arms is limited to a plain ring such as a wedding band; watches, bracelets, and stone-set rings are not allowed during food prep because they trap soil and can fall into food.
Eating, Drinking, Smoking, and Gum
Eating, chewing gum, smoking, vaping, and using smokeless tobacco are not allowed in food prep, food storage, dishwashing, or utensil-handling areas. The one limited exception for hydration is a covered beverage container with a straw, kept off the prep line and away from any food, food-contact surface, or clean equipment, so the employee's mouth never touches anything that will touch food.
Wounds, Cuts, and Sores
An open lesion is a direct source of contamination — Staphylococcus aureus is commonly carried in cuts and infected wounds. Any cut, burn, boil, or open sore on the hand or arm must be sealed with a water-resistant bandage and then completely covered by a single-use glove (or a finger cot plus glove for fingers) before the employee returns to food handling. If the bandage or glove becomes wet, soiled, or dislodged, both are replaced and hands are rewashed.
Work Clothing, Aprons, and Reporting Illness
Clean outer clothing reduces the chance of carrying contaminants into the kitchen. Aprons should be put on at work, not at home or in transit, and changed whenever they become soiled or after restroom breaks. Finally, food employees and applicants must report symptoms and certain diagnoses — vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, infected wound, or exposure to a confirmed foodborne illness — to the person in charge so they can be restricted or excluded as required, and so the local health officer can be notified for reportable illnesses.
Last updated: May 2026