The third blog in this series is about snacking while handling food. Food handlers should eat in an approved designated break room. Not just thins will help you maintain a proper eating habit or timeline, but also helps prevent any kind of cross-contamination in the food you are cooking.

Not many people would know, but it is important to understand that snacking while you are handling food or cooking food can trigger allergic reactions. Think about it, if a food handler is snacking on almonds while preparing a garden salad. Trace amounts of the almond remains on their hands. Although the garden salad doesn’t contain nuts as an actual ingredient, it would be enough to trigger an allergic reaction to the person consuming it (if they suffer from allergies) due to the traces on the food handler hands. At the same time, it will also result in the transfer of bacteria from your mouth to the food you are handling.

Snacking also includes chewing gum. Chewing gum should be avoided in areas where food is being prepared. Any specific reason? Well, during the chewing process our mouth releases a lot of saliva, which can accidently spray from a person’s mouth and contaminate the food or food contact surface. The chewing gum can also accidently fall into the food.

Additionally, employee food should be stored in a designated fridge and labeled.

Tips to avoid mid-work snacking.

It’s understandable that you should not avoid eating food, but it doesn’t mean that you can start eating anytime you want, especially when you are cooking or handling food. So here are some amazing ways you can avoid mindless workday munchies

Start the day with a full stomach – Make sure that you never skip the first meal of the day as this will help keep you feeling full all morning and put snacking far from your mind. Eggs are a great choice to make yourself full of energy for a long time.

Maintain your schedule – Many times, some habits like munching are associated with our schedule or emotions. This is why it is important to prepare a strict schedule for your work and take proper breaks in between when you can feed yourself something.

If eating, sit down and enjoy it – When you actually have time to eat something, make sure to give yourself enough time so that you don’t end up eating less and then again start striving for something. Make sure to eat full when you actually need to eat something.

Personal habits of food handlers can have a direct impact on the safety of food, it is important to learn how to handle food safely. The Probe It online food safety course provides food handlers with valuable knowledge that is needed when working with food. The online course includes various realistic scenarios, games and review questions to ensure the material was understood. Learn how to prevent food-borne illness and more by registering for the online course today. Click here for more details.