During a slow shift, how often should a food handler still wash their hands?
a.Just once at the start of the shift, because a slow shift means the hands are not picking up anything new between the few orders that trickle in over the afternoon
b.Just when the hands look visibly soiled, since contamination that leaves no mark, such as raw meat juices or restroom pathogens, does not call for a wash at the sink
c.Whenever hands become contaminated: before food work, after the restroom, after handling raw foods, after touching the face or trash, and between tasks
d.Exactly on a 30-minute kitchen timer, regardless of whether the handler touched raw meat, used the restroom, took out the trash, or touched his face in between
Explanation
Handwashing frequency depends on activity, not the pace of business: hands must be washed before starting food work and whenever they become contaminated, such as after the restroom, handling raw animal foods, touching the face or hair, taking out trash, or switching tasks. A slow shift still has restroom trips and raw-food contacts, and the pathogens that matter most are invisible, so waiting for visible soil misses them. A fixed timer washes at the wrong moments — too late after a contamination event and pointlessly when nothing happened.
Law Reference: FDA Food Code §2-301.14Practice all 500 questions free — no signup required.
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