Poor hygiene causes many problems, mainly and most importantly, health problems. It also causes economic problems for the establishment affected.
- Health problems
Damage to the body. Cause by physical, chemical & microbial contamination. It can be prevented if good personal hygiene is practiced.
- Physical contamination: when foreign materials unintentionally introduced/ naturally occuring objects to the food products. Eg, bones in fish, metal fragments in meat, hair, insects
- Damage to mouth teeth / gums
- Disrupt respiratory tract
- Damage to the digestive tract
- Lacerations of the mouth
- Lacerations of tongue
- Chipped teeth
- Broken fillings
- Damage to prosthetic
- Choking
- Aspiration
- Esophageal laceration
- Esophageal perforation
- Fistula formation
- Chemical contamination: Cause by chemical compound & food allergen. Eg, weed killers, pesticides, heavy metals, sanitizers.
- Acute poisoning
- Damage of health
- Death in some cases
- Food allergy symptoms (Eg, rashes, fainting, swelling of hands, feets, vomitting, stomach cramps etc)
- Microbial contamination: Cause by organisms or substances produced by organisms that pose a threat to human health (Eg, bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi)
- Vomitting
- Diarrhea
- Stomach cramps
- Indigestion
- Digestive problems
All the above contamination can cause death in some cases.
Loss of money due poor hygiene which causes foodborne illnesses. Price establishment have to pay for not practicing good personal hygiene.
- Decrease in productivity
- Medical expense / hospitalisation
- Long term disability claim
- Legal fees
- Testing of food supplies
- Time & money cleaning & santising the establishment
- Discarding / destroying food supplies that may or may not be contaminated
- Higher costs due to the restraining of the employes
- Increased insurance premiums
- Loss of prestige & reputation
- Loss of customers & sales
- Lowered employee morale
- Employee absenteeism
- Negative media coverage
- Closure of food establishment
If death occurs, no amount of money will be able to make it up.
Instead of allowing the problems listed above, why not practice good personal hygiene and have a good environment to prepare food? :)
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