As a food handler you need your hands to be in good condition when preparing and touching food. Some of the things that a food handler touches or tasks the perform can cause dermatitis.
What is dermatitis?
Work-related dermatitis is a skin condition caused by things that people touch at work. The hands are the most commonly affected.
Dermatitis affecting food handlers
Irritant contact dermatitis
...caused by things that dry out and damage the skin. Common irritants include handling foods, hand washing, dishwashing detergents and sweating when wearing gloves.
Allergic contact dermatitis
...occurs when someone becomes allergic to something they touch at work. Allergic contact dermatitis shows up hours or days after contact. Common causes for food handlers are garlic and onions.
Contact urticaria
...also an allergy to something contacted at work. The reaction starts immediately after contact (normally within 30 minutes). Common causes are seafood, flour, chicken, some fruits and vegetables and latex gloves.
Prevent skin problems at work
- Apply moisturising cream regularly
- Wear suitable gloves for the job. For food preparation wear vinyl or clear plastic (polyethylene) gloves and NOT latex gloves (some people are allergic to natural rubber latex).
- Take rings off at work, as soap and water can get trapped underneath causing dermatitis.
Matt - part-time cook at a fast food restaurant
Matt was a 16 year old who worked at a fast food restaurant after school and on weekends. He was working to save money to buy a car. His duties included cooking and frying foods. It was also his job to clean the equipment, stove and grill at the end of the day.
Matt found that handling moist foods and the cleaning products used on the stoves and grills stung his hands along with a lot of hand washing made his skin feel very dry.
Matt had eczema as a baby, but it had completely gone away before he was five years-old.
After seeing a doctor, Matt was told he had irritant dermatitis to the cleaning products and from all the hand washing and handling of wet and raw foods.
Matt's workplace now provides him with thick rubber gloves when he is cleaning and also provides him with vinyl food handler's gloves when he is touching raw food.
Matt's skin condition could have been prevented if:
- His workplace had supplied him with the right gloves at the start
- He had used a moisturiser at the end of his shift and before bed
- He had told his boss he was having skin problems as soon as they started
