Reportable illnesses

Food handlers who work while sick with certain illnesses or after being exposed to certain illnesses can contaminate food, putting your customers and your brand at risk. It is important that these food handlers know when it is safe to work and when they should report an illness to their manager.

Steritech experts have created a poster for your business that will remind food workers when they should stop and report their illness.

When should food workers report an illness?

• When they have symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat with fever, jaundice, or infected burns/cuts on their hands or wrists.
• If they have been exposed to a foodborne illness: they have eaten or handled food that was implicated in a foodborne illness, they work somewhere that had an incident, or they live with someone that worked or ate at a location that had an incident.
• If they live with or care for someone who has been diagnosed with: norovirus, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Salmonella Typhi, or hepatitis A.

It’s also critical that managers know what to do if an employee reports an illness. They must then be able to assess the employee’s ability to work. For more information, managers can review the free Retail Food Protection: Employee Health and Personal Hygiene Handbook on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website. To learn more about Steritech's selection of health and safety services, contact us today.