5 replies to this topic

[carbet2309]

There is a list of laboratory exams food handlers have to take in order to work in a food processing plant.  Does someone have a document that explains the reason for each of these exams: ie, syphilis, tuberculosis, skin exam, etc.

[Charles.C]

There is a list of laboratory exams food handlers have to take in order to work in a food processing plant.  Does someone have a document that explains the reason for each of these exams: ie, syphilis, tuberculosis, skin exam, etc.

 

Hi carbet,

 

Thks yr query and Welcome to the Forum !

 

What list are you referring to ?  It sounds atypical.

[carbet2309]

Hi carbet,
 
Thks yr query and Welcome to the Forum !
 
What list are you referring to ?  It sounds atypical.

Un Nicaragua, and I believe that un most countries, there's a regulation for people who handle food during the process. These employees must undergo these exams every 6 months.

[brianweber]

In the United States this is dictated by local laws/ordinances. In my area there are no laws saying employees have to be tested unless they serve the finished product to the end customer. I would start with your local health department / Nicaraguan Ministry of Health.

[Charles.C]

Hi carbet,

 

Afaik, there is no globally standardized list as used in medical examinations.

 

The selection of individual items is presumably based on expert opinion as to their (local/non-local) relevance/ risk in foodborne disease transmission.

 

Just as an example i enclose the model USFDA Food Code 2013 as related to certain food handling situations, eg retail stores.

 

The microbial species considered to be of interest in this example are detailed in section 2, pg 32 et seq.

 

Note that the first 2 illnesses referred in yr OP are not included.

 

The USFDA viewpoint in 2008, vis-a-vis Food Code 2005, regarding medical examination protocols is discussed in second attachment. No idea if the current viewpoint is identical.

 

 US Food Code,2013.pdf   6.92MB   40 downloads

 medical examinations.pdf   18.07KB   42 downloads

 

PS – I also extracted this chunk from the document linked below (originally oriented to Food Code 2005) which seemed informative.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and FDA cite five highly infective pathogens that can easily be transmitted by food workers and cause severe illness. These five foodborne pathogens, also known as the 'Big 5,' include Norovirus, the Hepatitis A virus, Salmonella Typhi, Shigella spp., and Escherichia coli (E.coli) O157:H7 or other Enterohemorrhagic or Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. Other, less infectious pathogens that can also be transmitted by food employees to consumers through contaminated food include Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., and Streptococcus pyogenes.

This handbook highlights a combination of three interventions that can be effective in prevention of the transmission of foodborne viruses and bacteria in food establishments. These interventions include: (a) restricting or excluding ill food employees from working with food; (b) using proper handwashing procedures; and © eliminating bare hand contact with foods that are ready-to-eat (RTE). Concurrent use of each intervention will help prevent the transmission of viruses, bacteria, and protozoan oocysts from food employees to consumers through contaminated food.

 

http://www.fda.gov/F...s/ucm113827.htm

(last modified 2014)

The list above is obviously not all-inclusive with respect to potential food-related pathogens, eg -

http://www.cdc.gov/f...-estimates.html

 

PPS - added -

 

 Big Five Organisms FoodSafety.pdf   114.29KB   31 downloads

Edited by Charles.C, 03 November 2015 - 05:08 AM.
expanded/amended

[MWidra]

There is a list of laboratory exams food handlers have to take in order to work in a food processing plant.  Does someone have a document that explains the reason for each of these exams: ie, syphilis, tuberculosis, skin exam, etc.

I would assume that the health code selected these diseases because they are common in your country.  Sometimes a government will require testing not because of the risk posed by the person in their job, but because it's an easy way to increase testing of citizens to reduce a disease in the general population.  Tuberculosis and syphilis are not transmitted in food, so there must be another reason for including them in the list.  The skin exam would find skin infections that could be transmitted to food, so I can understand that.

 

No matter the reason, if your government requires it, then you have to abide by it or face consequences.

 

Martha