Personal Hygiene

Earlier in this chapter, we said most food-borne disease is caused by bacteria. Now we expand that statement slightly to say that most food-borne disease is caused by bacteria spread by food workers.

At the beginning of this chapter, we defined contamination as harmful substances not present originally in the food. Some contamination occurs before we receive the food, which means proper purchasing and receiving procedures are important parts of a sanitation program. But most food contamination occurs as a result of cross-contamination, defined as the transference of hazardous substances, mainly microorganisms, to a food from another food or another surface, such as equipment, worktables, or hands. Examples of situations in which cross-contamination can occur include the following: