Hair control to prevent physical contamination in restaurant segments
Hello,
We would like to hear technical expertise suggestion/ recommendation to control Hair physical contamination in Restaurant segments.
Following controls were developed at our units: However we are not successful in controlling the Hair - Physical contamination:
1. Hair net provided to employee , Smaller and Larger size to accommodate male / female employees.
2. The uniforms are light in color to distinguish the hair follicles.
3. Hair shower was installed at the entrance to remove the physical debris carried out from external area.
Request your technical expertise advice on control , one shall exercise on the contamination risk.
Regards,
Baskaran.G.
Hi Baskaran,
If the hairnets are not being worn properly, then you will never find success in controlling this. Have you reviewed how they should be wearing hairnets with your staff?
Have you designated where they MUST wear them? Like are there certain areas where they don't have to wear them and where they have to? Maybe the type of hairnets you are providing are not doing the best job?
Hi,
Yes, the hair net was properly covered , covering till ears. Would like to know, if the temperature condition of kitchen around 30 Degree Celsius. Will have impact on the employee hair falling frequency.
Hi Baskaran,
If the hairnets are not being worn properly, then you will never find success in controlling this. Have you reviewed how they should be wearing hairnets with your staff?
Agreed with all the above. You should make sure that the hairnets you purchased are fit for use. If they are the kind that tear easily, they could be causing contamination via breaks in the netting. Bouffant-style hairnets work pretty well and seem to be pretty durable.
Also, hairnets should be worn over the ears (if you are not doing this already). A lot of places fail to do this, so some hair doesn't get contained inside the hairnet.
Employees wearing the hair net at designed area at the entrance of kitchen. Would request you to advise, is there any specification available for the hair net?
Have you designated where they MUST wear them? Like are there certain areas where they don't have to wear them and where they have to? Maybe the type of hairnets you are providing are not doing the best job?
Hi,
Yes, the hair net was properly covered , covering till ears. Would like to know, if the temperature condition of kitchen around 30 Degree Celsius. Will have impact on the employee hair falling frequency.
30 deg. C is not really that hot. I would not think this would have an impact on frequency, but at the same time, the job of the hairnet is to retain the hair (so even if it fell, it should have fallen into the hairnet). Your post indicates hair net covers "till" ears. I'm not certain if that implies the ears are covered.
You might want to look at better hairnets if you are following proper GMP procedures for these. I do know that people with thinner hair tend to have a hard time keeping it in a hairnet, you might consider doubling up the hairnet or using the balaclava style if need be.
Are you allowing employees to re-use hairnets? Are the employees taking them off in areas that is near food to fix the hair net? What kind of hairnet are you using? Hairnets go over the ears like stated above. Are men wearing beard nets?
How about snood hairnets? The ones that cover the entire head (ensures ears and entire head are covered), along with the beard area for men.
Agreed, look at different hairnets that would possibility hold up better. Hairnets should be changed out as frequently as needed, do not re-use them over and over. What kind of hairnets are you using?
We switched from regular hairnets to bouffant caps for our cut and wrap room. 1 size fits all
This one baffles me and no one has addressed it... tell me more about....
>3. Hair shower was installed at the entrance to remove the physical debris carried out from external area.
This one baffles me and no one has addressed it... tell me more about....
>3. Hair shower was installed at the entrance to remove the physical debris carried out from external area.
I hope it's an air one. Like one that can blow the debris off and not an actual shower.
This one baffles me and no one has addressed it... tell me more about....
>3. Hair shower was installed at the entrance to remove the physical debris carried out from external area.
I hope it's an air one. Like one that can blow the debris off and not an actual shower.
I was assuming it was what The Food Scientist described above. I was a little puzzled as well, but I was making an assumption that this was an air blower. I'd be concerned to know if the air blows the hair opposite the direction of the processing area and can easily be contained for cleaning, but figured to address the hairnets first.
I was assuming it was what The Food Scientist described above. I was a little puzzled as well, but I was making an assumption that this was an air blower. I'd be concerned to know if the air blows the hair opposite the direction of the processing area and can easily be contained for cleaning, but figured to address the hairnets first.
Thanks. Would request you to advise, any specific air velocity/ height recommended at kitchen entrance for the air curtain to be effective in order to blow off the physical debris deposited on the clothing.
Agreed, look at different hairnets that would possibility hold up better. Hairnets should be changed out as frequently as needed, do not re-use them over and over. What kind of hairnets are you using?
We are using disposable white caps approximately 5 cm in size. Now, We are planning to change over to bouffant caps
Thanks. Would request you to advise, any specific air velocity/ height recommended at kitchen entrance for the air curtain to be effective in order to blow off the physical debris deposited on the clothing.
I wouldn't really know that. The manufacturer of your air curtain should have that sort of information though. I was thinking more along the lines of checking to make sure the air is blowing hair away from your kitchen entrance.
I agree with QAGB and also recommend checking your air filters/ventilation system.
Mr. Bhaskaran,
You should also look into the method of disposal of used hairnet, how? and Where they are being disposed? and is there any cross contamination of hair from the disposed hairnet? etc. Also as discussed above you better change to different type of hairnet.
Also do Why? why? analysis for the hair contamination. Whether hair is coming from men or women (Short or long hair), accordingly take necessary action plans. also look into your air curtain functioning all the time and make sure your air curtain is not near to your AHU louvers/centralized air condition (if you have), which may blow back hairs into your kitchen when air curtain malfunctions.
Mahantesh
We are using disposable white caps approximately 5 cm in size.
:uhm:
Whilst it does sound like your controls & hairnet could be improved, have you verified that the caps are being worn as requested? IMEX when there is an issue of contamination it's not always the direct controls/procedures that are the cause, but sometimes failure to comply with them i.e. in this case could staff temporarily removing or adjusting caps inside the kitchen if they get too warm or uncomfortable? Just something I'd want to rule out if I were you if not already done.
We are using disposable white caps approximately 5 cm in size. Now, We are planning to change over to bouffant caps
I am somewhat confused. Are your employees wearing hair nets, or are they wearing caps? When I think cap, I think the fluted chef hat or some kind of variant to that. If you are indeed using caps rather than hair nets, you should really think about switching to a real hair net for your employees if you are having issues with contamination.
I also agree with the posters above. Sometimes its a failure to comply with the system. I've seen people blatantly wear their hair nets and beard nets incorrectly just to be spiteful, and I've seen some creative wearing of these items when employees get hot also.