Being sick as a service industry worker can be inconvenient. You may not be able to work as much as you would like and may need to stay at home to rest and recover. You might also worry about leaving your coworkers in the lurch and being seen as unreliable!
However, working with food when you’re not feeling well can be dangerous for your coworkers and even your customers. Don’t be a food handler who fails to report illness! As tempted as you might be to push through and keep working, you may need to call in sick and take note of reportable illness for food safety reasons.
Which Illness Must You Report to a Manager: Food Handlers
If you’re a food handler in the service industry, any illness should be taken seriously. It’s not just your health and safety at stake. It’s also the health and safety of your customers.
If you have been diagnosed with a foodborne illness caused by parasites, toxins, viruses, or bacteria that can contaminate food and water, you must report it to your manager immediately. Some conditions must also be reported to your local or regional health department.
If you’re wondering which confirmed food worker illness must be reported, here is a non-extensive list:
- E.coli
- Hepatitis A
- Salmonella
- Norovirus
These illnesses can be transmitted through contaminated food and poor hygiene practices.
Symptoms You Should Report to Your Manager in the Service Industry
You might not have yet been diagnosed with a particular illness, but don’t let that stop you from talking to your manager when you’re not feeling at your best. There are a number of symptoms that can indicate highly contagious foodborne illnesses:
Vomiting and Diarrhea
As uncomfortable as it might be to talk about vomiting and diarrhea with your manager, it can be important for keeping your customers and coworkers safe. These symptoms may indicate a foodborne illness that can be highly contagious.
After informing your manager of your symptoms, stay home and rest to avoid spreading your illness to others. You must be free from your symptoms for at least 24 hours before returning to work.
Jaundice
If you are experiencing yellow discoloration of the skin or eyes, you may have a liver infection caused by the Hepatitis A virus. You may be at risk of transmitting this virus to other people. Report your illness to your manager and stay at home until you have fully recovered.
Fever and Sore Throat
Experiencing a fever with a sore throat might indicate a foodborne illness. The fever symptom, in particular, can be a sign of an infection or illness, while the sore throat may indicate a cold or flu.
Working with food while experiencing these symptoms may put your customers and coworkers at risk.
Brush Up On Personal Hygiene Practices
Being aware of reportable illnesses for food safety purposes is just one of the many ways you can keep your colleagues and customers safe. Reporting an illness to your manager can be combined with good personal hygiene practices. You can learn all about these in a food handler certificate program, but here are a few of the many important ones:
- Wash your hands with soap and warm water
- Keep your fingernails clean
- Don’t touch your face and hair
- Tie your hair back
- Wear clean clothing
- Stay home when sick
- Don’t wear jewelry
Learn More About Hygiene, Health, and Safety in TABC Pronto’s Food Handlers Card
It’s important to be well-informed about hygiene, health, and safety when you work in the food service industry. From knowing which illnesses you should report to your manager to understanding your own personal hygiene requirements, there’s much to learn! Learn everything you need to know in our Texas Food Handler Card program. Enroll with TABC Pronto today.