Is it ok to wear baseball caps or even beanies under hairnets?

Hello,

We are a frozen dough manufacturing facility that has a couple of employees that have requested that they be allowed to wear baseball caps or even beanies under the required hairnets on the production floor.  They have asked that we perform a risk assessment in our next food safety team meeting. I was hoping that I could get some feedback from Quality Managers, Auditors/SQF Moderators to see if you have ever come across this and if it in your opinion it could pose a food safety risk.  Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!  Thank you very much!

Brenda

Quality Manager

My answer has always been no.  Caps and hats do not get washed very often - certainly not as often as one showers and washes hair (at least I would hope). Hairnets often do not adequately cover hats or beanies. Hats also tend to lead to people touching their head/face more often.  

I suppose it would also depend on your product, process, and necessity of said caps.  Did your employees give a reason why they need/want to wear them? 

Hello Brendar,

While I'm unsure the purpose of a Baseball cap (since the employees would be working in cold conditions) beanies would be appropriate if you have good manufacturing practices in place. 

Not that I'm suggesting anything but our company has given at several points beanies, hoodies and other wearables with our company name/logo to all employees and we encourage them to wear them as they would be warm to wear while working.

Bottom line, if you have good procedures and work conduct in place, there shouldn't be any issues wearing beanies in the cold. 

How often are these caps washed? If never (like with baseball caps), then no.  Caps that protect from the cold can be washed.

@Setanta Definitely agree, has to be washed. 

Maybe you could require only a certain color (Such as black) so that it's more visible if the beanie has been cleaned or not. Just a thought. 

Hello,

Thank you for your responses!  The employees requesting the ability to wear baseball caps have no legitimate reason for wanting to wear them, other than comfort/habit.  The plant has two employees that work in the storage freezer and they are provided with coats and gloves that are on a laundering schedule. I think that baseball caps do not get washed nearly enough, but the beanies on the other hand I could see being of actual use if laundered regularly.  I really wanted to get a feel for thoughts from different facilities and appreciate the feedback! 

We are fresh cut produce and we do allow beanies. It's just too cold in there not to. We did try the hood style hair nets for better coverage if it's a concern. As long as you're solid on your training and that hair/hats must be completely covered we haven't seen issues.

veruca

I worked for a canned tomato product producer and we had individuals asking the same thing. We had a customer who said no to baseball caps for the reasons mentioned above. I myself said that they could wear a beanie but a hairnet should be under and over the beanie. However we did offer bump caps (like a hard hat) for those who wanted to wear a hat. Those were easily cleaned and usually white so you could see if they were not clean enough to meet standards. I think you base it on risk and customer demands. We also had a customer GMP that was to use a lint roller. If you decide to allow it I recommend a hairnet under and over. 

When it gets real cold here I'll double up hairnets, they act as a beanie.

I am a Quality Assurance manager at a Frozen food Mfg.  This topic just came up here again.  I do not allow baseball caps.  I do however allow headbands if they are completely covered by a hairnet.  This helps them to keep all of their hair covered.  If they are working in the freezers or coolers I allow stocking hats as long as they are covered by a hairnet.  

We do not allow ball caps as they cannot be completely covered by a hairnet and for the reasons mentioned above. We do allow beanies and headbands as long as they are completely covered by a hair net. When I worked in production I wore headbands to keep my fly aways (I have big hair) from creeping out of my hair net. I almost feel like headbands and beanies provide more protection in those cases than simple hair ties and buns. 

I've always allowed this if there is a hairnet both under and over the beanie. It follows the same GMPs, like frequent washing, as other apparel does. 

Hello,

Thank you for your responses!  The employees requesting the ability to wear baseball caps have no legitimate reason for wanting to wear them, other than comfort/habit.  The plant has two employees that work in the storage freezer and they are provided with coats and gloves that are on a laundering schedule. I think that baseball caps do not get washed nearly enough, but the beanies on the other hand I could see being of actual use if laundered regularly.  I really wanted to get a feel for thoughts from different facilities and appreciate the feedback! 

Since there is no "legitimate reason" for wanting to wear ball caps, the answer would be an emphatic no.

Beanies or toques, would be acceptable, as long as the cleanliness of them were verified and only in areas where employee comfort is a consideration.

Marshall
 

Baseball hats are a hard NO

Touques however, can be completely covered by a balaclava style hairnet so yes........as long as company issued and laundered

To further assist in ensuring the beanies are washed regularly, you could try to explore with your uniform laundry service provider if they can provide beanies and forms part of your PPE laundry requirement.

We have allowed staff to wear beanies under their hair nets/ snood caps in the warehouse as in the winter it is colder than the chillers! We have never permitted this in the production areas but they dont get cold. Baseball caps would be a definate no as they serve no purpose and as people have said above they are not washed that often.

If you decide you would like to allow these for the moral of your employees my best advice would be a very throughout risk assessment and a specific cleaning/washing requirement for these items.  As stated above beanies are more easily cleaned and seem to be preferred.  I have been in cold storage facilities with an SQF certification that have allowed these.  Most of the time these are worn in areas considered storage and not production so the product is closed and sealed which you can use in your risk assessment as justification.  They used face mask like hairnets to complete enclose the piece of clothing.