Protective Clothing and PPE in Food Preparation

Protective clothing plays an important role in food production, preparation and service. It can protect employees from workplace hazards while helping to prevent food from becoming contaminated.

Clothing can become a source of contamination if it is unsuitable, dirty, damaged, stored incorrectly or not worn properly.

Why Is Protective Clothing Important in Food Safety?

Suitable protective clothing helps prevent contaminants from entering food, including:

• Hair
• Dirt and dust
• Harmful microorganisms
• Fibres from personal clothing
• Loose objects
• Jewellery and personal belongings

Protective clothing also helps prevent an employee’s personal clothing from becoming contaminated by food, chemicals, grease or other workplace substances.

What Protective Clothing Do Food Handlers Need?

The type of protective clothing required will depend on:

• The food being handled
• The employee’s duties
• The contamination risks
• The equipment and machinery being used
• The workplace’s food safety procedures
• The findings of relevant risk assessments

Common examples of protective clothing used in food businesses include:

• Hairnets
• Hats and other head coverings
• Beard coverings
• Protective coats
• Overalls
• Aprons
• Gloves
• Safety shoes
• Washable or waterproof boots

Protective Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment

Protective food clothing and personal protective equipment, commonly known as PPE, may serve different purposes.

Protective food clothing is primarily intended to prevent food from being contaminated by the person or their clothing.

PPE is intended to protect the employee from workplace hazards such as sharp tools, chemicals, heat, cold, falling objects or moving machinery.

Some items may provide both food-hygiene and personal-safety protection.

Specialist PPE in Food Production

Additional PPE may be required where employees work with machinery, sharp tools, hot equipment, chemicals or specialist food-production processes.

Examples include:

• Cut-resistant gloves
• Protective arm guards
• Chainmail gloves or aprons
• Heat-resistant gloves
• Chemical-resistant gloves
• Safety glasses or face shields
• Hearing protection
• Slip-resistant safety footwear
• Thermal clothing for cold-storage areas

Employees using knives or cutting machinery may require cut-resistant protection selected for the particular task.

PPE must be suitable for the hazard and must not create an additional food-contamination risk.

Disposable and Reusable Protective Clothing

Protective clothing may be disposable or reusable, depending on the task and workplace requirements.

Disposable Protective Clothing

Disposable items may include:

• Gloves
• Aprons
• Hairnets
• Beard coverings
• Sleeve protectors
• Shoe coverings

Disposable protective clothing should:

• Be used only for its intended purpose
• Be changed when damaged or contaminated
• Not be washed or reused
• Be disposed of in the correct waste container
• Be replaced when moving between incompatible work areas

Reusable Protective Clothing

Reusable clothing must be cleaned effectively and changed regularly.

The business should establish:

• How frequently clothing must be changed
• Who is responsible for laundering it
• How clean and dirty clothing will be separated
• Where clothing will be stored
• When damaged garments must be replaced

Dirty protective clothing may harbour harmful microorganisms and increase the risk of cross-contamination.

Why Is Food-Production Clothing Often Light Coloured?

Protective clothing used in food production is often white or another light colour. This makes dirt, food residue and contamination easier to identify.

Light-coloured clothing helps employees and supervisors recognise when a garment needs to be changed or cleaned.

However, clothing that looks clean may still carry harmful microorganisms. Garments must therefore be changed and laundered according to workplace procedures rather than appearance alone.

Food-Safe Clothing Design

Protective clothing for food production is often designed to reduce physical contamination risks.

Useful design features may include:

• No external pockets
• Sealed or internal pockets
• Press studs instead of loose buttons
• Secure fastenings
• Minimal seams or loose material
• Materials that can be cleaned effectively
• No decorative attachments

Press studs are often preferred to buttons because they reduce the risk of loose parts becoming detached and entering food.

Keeping Protective Clothing in Good Condition

Protective clothing should be inspected regularly and kept in good condition.

Employees should look for:

• Tears or holes
• Loose threads
• Missing fastenings
• Damaged elastic
• Broken zips or press studs
• Heavy staining
• Chemical contamination
• Damage that makes effective cleaning impossible

Damaged, contaminated or unsuitable clothing must be reported and replaced promptly.

Storing Protective Clothing Safely

Clean protective clothing should be stored in a clean, dry area where it is protected from contamination.

Businesses should provide arrangements that keep:

• Clean protective clothing separate from dirty clothing
• Work clothing separate from outdoor clothing
• Protective footwear away from clean garments
• Disposable clothing protected until required
• Personal belongings away from food-production areas

Protective clothing should not be left on floors, worktops, equipment or other unsuitable surfaces.

When Should Protective Clothing Be Changed?

Protective clothing should be changed:

• At the beginning of a shift where required
• When it becomes visibly dirty
• When it becomes wet or contaminated
• After handling certain raw foods
• Before entering a designated clean area
• When moving between incompatible production areas
• After a contamination incident
• At the frequency specified by workplace procedures

Changing procedures should be designed to prevent contamination from being transferred between raw-food and ready-to-eat areas.

Hairnets, Hats and Beard Coverings

Hair should be tied back and covered where required. Head coverings must contain the hair effectively rather than simply sit on top of it.

Food handlers should:

• Put on their hair covering before entering the food area
• Ensure all hair is contained
• Use a beard covering where required
• Replace disposable coverings when damaged or contaminated
• Avoid adjusting hair coverings while handling food
• Wash their hands after touching their hair or head covering

Using Gloves in Food Preparation

Gloves may be required for particular food-handling or cleaning tasks. However, wearing gloves does not replace proper handwashing.

Disposable gloves should be changed:

• Between raw and ready-to-eat food tasks
• After touching waste or contaminated surfaces
• When torn or damaged
• After cleaning
• When changing tasks
• As frequently as hands would otherwise need to be washed

Hands should be washed and dried before putting gloves on and after removing them.

Suitable Footwear for Food Environments

Footwear should be suitable for the workplace and the hazards involved.

Depending on the environment, footwear may need to be:

• Slip resistant
• Waterproof or water resistant
• Washable
• Toe protected
• Securely fastened
• Reserved for use within a particular production area

Footwear should be cleaned at the required frequency and stored in a way that prevents contamination.

Covering Cuts and Grazes

All cuts, grazes and areas of broken skin must be covered with a suitable waterproof dressing before food-handling work begins.

Food-industry dressings are usually blue because the colour is easy to see if the dressing becomes detached.

In some food-manufacturing environments, dressings may also contain a detectable metal strip so they can be identified by metal-detection equipment.

Food handlers must:

• Use an approved waterproof dressing
• Check that the dressing remains secure
• Replace dirty, wet or loose dressings
• Report the loss of a dressing immediately
• Wear an additional glove where required
• Report any signs of infection

An infected wound that cannot be contained safely may require the employee to be excluded from food handling.

Wearing Protective Clothing Correctly

Protective clothing is only effective when it is worn and used correctly.

Employees should:

• Put protective clothing on before entering designated food areas
• Fasten coats, overalls and aprons correctly
• Keep hair fully contained
• Wear all PPE required for the task
• Remove contaminated clothing safely
• Follow changing procedures between work areas
• Store clean and dirty clothing separately
• Report missing, damaged or unsuitable items

Leaving Food-Production Areas

Depending on workplace procedures, protective clothing may need to be removed before:

• Using the toilet
• Taking a break
• Eating or smoking
• Going outside
• Entering waste-storage areas
• Moving into a different hygiene zone

This helps prevent contamination from being carried into or out of food-production areas.

Protective Clothing Training and Supervision

Employees must receive suitable instruction and training covering:

• Which protective clothing and PPE are required
• How items should be worn
• When clothing must be changed
• How reusable garments should be cleaned
• Where clean and dirty clothing should be stored
• How damaged equipment should be reported
• How to remove contaminated clothing safely

Managers and supervisors should monitor compliance and correct unsafe practices promptly.

Protective Clothing and Food Safety

Suitable protective clothing helps reduce contamination, improve hygiene standards and protect employees from workplace hazards.

By wearing, cleaning, storing and replacing protective clothing correctly, food handlers can help maintain a safe environment for colleagues and customers.