Wearing hats and harinets

Hey folks!

When I started at my facility, about 6 months ago, we had a procedure in place for hairnets. 

It was that if you are wearing a hat, you must wear a hairnet under the hat, covering your hair, and then an additional hair net over the hat as well. I have been calling this the "hat sandwich".

We are having difficulty with GMPs at our facility, so I am trying to reboot the training, and make a program that is easy for folks to follow, etc.

I keep thinking about this hat sandwich situation. Is it necessary? If someone's hairnet can cover both the hat and all of their hair, is this not just a waste of a hairnet? Additionally, employees question why the hat sandwich is required, if the hairnet covers both the hat and the hair. And honestly, I don't really know what to tell them. I've said, "It's a policy that was in place when I arrived here, and I am looking into it currently". Because it makes no sense to me. 

Can someone explain this to me like I'm 5? Because I feel like the only reason you should wear an additional hairnet, is if everything is not being covered. That's a given. 

I tried to find some validation on it in my predecessor's office, but it's pure chaos in there, which is a gripe for another day haha.

Thanks!

My first question would be why are they allowed to wear hats.....

Unless the hat is laundered and never leaves the facility like a uniform is, I have no idea why you'd let them wear it in production....

Too much: 

Look at the purpose of each. 

The hairnet is required. It keeps hair out of food.

A hat is for either: hardhat and head protection, warmth or style. 

As will all clothing - it must be clean to be worn at work.  A common GMP for facilities. 

I say no to hairnet over the hat.

If you need a hairnet over a hat - that is saying the hat isn't clean. So in violation of your clothing policy. 

I can't see a reason for this hairnet sammich.  They're right, if the top hairnet covers the hat and hair, then the one under it is redundant.

But as a topic that has come up frequently on this board, ball caps are almost universally seen as a no-go.  They're filthy, no one ever launders them because they don't want to ruin the shapes, and a buildup of hair and dirt on the hat poses a risk to your production.  Beanies are acceptable as they can be laundered with regular clothing, and arguably required in cold operations from an employee safety standpoint.  I'd opt for providing beanies along with smocks/uniforms if it was my decision in a facility, to ensure they're laundered through the same process as the other food safety clothing.  Hard hats are the only other thing that comes to mind, and in my plants that use them they're cleaned by the sanitation crews each shift and worn atop the hairnets.  No issues from auditors on that.

I can't see a reason for this hairnet sammich.  They're right, if the top hairnet covers the hat and hair, then the one under it is redundant.

 

But as a topic that has come up frequently on this board, ball caps are almost universally seen as a no-go.  They're filthy, no one ever launders them because they don't want to ruin the shapes, and a buildup of hair and dirt on the hat poses a risk to your production.  Beanies are acceptable as they can be laundered with regular clothing, and arguably required in cold operations from an employee safety standpoint.  I'd opt for providing beanies along with smocks/uniforms if it was my decision in a facility, to ensure they're laundered through the same process as the other food safety clothing.  Hard hats are the only other thing that comes to mind, and in my plants that use them they're cleaned by the sanitation crews each shift and worn atop the hairnets.  No issues from auditors on that.

This is how it's been in every other facility I've been in. This is a mushroom farm, we don't provide uniforms/smocks/etc... We have a rule for clean clothing at work. We have had auditors question hats over hairnets before (at another mushroom farm I was at), so we opted to put them under the hairnet. Maybe I should ban ballcaps, and allow clean beanies, with a hairnet over top. 

I agree, the hat sandwich immediately struck me as overkill, and is almost always going to be disregarded by employees, because it makes no sense. 

Our bump caps are cleaned by the night crew, and go over the hairnet. 

I guess it depends on your audit scheme and risk. If you're a low risk facility, you could probably get away with allowing hats with a hairnet over the hat. The hairnet under doesn't make any sense, I'd just get 24" hairnets that allow you to cover both. I've worked in a facility that allowed them and one where they didn't allow them, both low risk facilities, and never had an auditor ding us for it. 

I've been in way too many facilities where there was more than just a head contained in a cap to ever say that caps are ok - on top of that they get dirty, pieces of them become loose and drop into the food on the line, etc - the hairnet over the cap is pretty darn funny and has been seen in a number of facilities I've been in.

Nothing good will come of this much complication, 1 head, 1 hairnet - no cap that needs another hairnet.

easy peasy.

Hairnet over the cap and you're good to go 

Considering that you're in a mushroom farm and not a high risk or manufactured factory

Hi,

We allow beanies to be worn as long as a hairnet can cover the entire thing. Our facility can get pretty cold, as expected for the frozen dessert industry. We see the beanie the same as we would see someone's hair - not necessarily super clean but as long as it is completely covered, we find the risk to be low enough to not have any issues.

The only issue comes with new employees who forget to put their hairnet over their beanie, but that is quickly remedied through other employees pestering them about it.

As to the question of why would anyone need to wear a hat in the production environment? Cold temperatures = a snug fitting and generally non-decorative stocking cap seems entirely reasonable.  It needs to meet the same cleanliness and GMP criteria other personal garments are expected to meet, and can be worn under a hairnet like other hair restraint and hearing protection devices.  No sandwich necessary.

Unless when you say "hat" you meant a baseball cap, or sombrero or whatever.  I don't see any good reasons to allow this.  If your production environment is so brightly lit people need eye protection, that just seems like an all around waste of time and money -- turn the lighting down, no hats, no extra hairnet layers.

If a "hat" is meant as something else like a bump cap or PPE style headgear, this should be made of durable, nonporous, cleanable materials that can be outside the hairnet.