ABSTRAK 

Food is a basic need for humans living on this earth that is needed at all times. The  food consumed should meet the criteria that this food is suitable for eating and does  not cause disease. The way food is prepared, the hygiene of food handlers and how it  is served are all important parts of food management. Foodborne illness is one of the  leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Indonesia. Some of the factors that  influence personal hygiene in food handlers are age, education level and knowledge  level. 100% of food handlers’ behavior is not washing hands with soap when starting  work, hand habits when transitioning from food management and buying and selling  transactions. Food handlers do not use personal protective equipment such as work  clothes, gloves and kitchen footwear. 

Keywords: Personal Hygiene, Food Handler Behavior, Healthy Food 

INTRODUCTION 

Food is a basic necessity for humans living on this earth that is needed at all  times. Food requires good and proper management to benefit the body. According to  WHO, what is meant by food is “Food include all substances. whether in natural state  or in a manutactured or preparediood. which are part of human diet.” The definition  of food does not include water. medicines and substances required for medicinal 

purposes. The food consumed should meet the criteria that it is fit to eat and does not  cause disease. 

Personal hygiene Self-care is an effort made to maintain one’s cleanliness and  health, both physical and psychological well-being, while lack of self-care is a  condition in which a person is unable to perform hygiene care for himself (Potter &  Perry, 2005). In carrying out daily life, cleanliness is very important and must be  considered because basically cleanliness will affect a person’s health and psychology.  Individual values and habits that a person often does will affect hygiene for himself. A  person’s perception of cleanliness will affect their health, for example when a person is  sick it usually happens because he does not maintain cleanliness and considers  cleanliness a minor problem. 

Maintenance of personal hygiene is necessary for individual comfort, safety  and health. Healthy individuals will be able to fulfill their health needs, while sick  individuals need the help of nurses or other people to carry out routine health practices  (Perry & Potter, 2005). 

The impact of personal hygiene consists of psychological impact and physical  impact, where the physical impact is the presence of health problems suffered by  someone because they do not maintain good personal hygiene (Ambarawati &  Sunarsih, 2011). 

Infectious diseases are diseases that can be transmitted from individuals to  other individuals either directly or indirectly (intermediaries) (Natoadmodjo, 2003).  Various infectious disease agents can be transmitted through water, including viruses,  bacteria, protozoa, and vectors that make the water environment their residence.  According to the way of distribution, Water Washed Disease, Water Borne Disease,  Water Related Vectors (Priyanto, 2019).  

Susanna (2003) in Agustina, et al (2009) said that diseases caused by  contaminated food are called foodborne diseases. Foodborne diseases are one of the  most numerous and most burdensome public health problems ever encountered in  modern times.

Furthermore, Adam. M (2004) in Cahyaningsih, et al (2009) also said that  food handler behavior plays a role in determining whether a food is healthy (healthy  food) or not, food handler behavior can also pose a health risk. This means that  unhealthy food handler behavior will have an impact on the hygiene of the food served.  Conversely, healthy food handler behavior can prevent food from contamination or  pollution and poisoning. 

Not maintaining sanitation and personal and environmental hygiene will be  associated with several infectious diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, typhoid and  paratyphoid fever, dysentery, hookworm disease, ascariasis, Hepatitis A and E, skin  diseases, trachoma, schistosomiasis, cryptosporidiosis, malnutrition, and diseases  associated with malnutrition. 

Based on the above background, we are interested in writing a study on  healthy food safety in terms of personal hygiene and sanitation in food handlers in the  FKM UNSRI canteen. 

The purpose of this paper is to determine the application of personal hygiene  to food handlers in the FKM UNSRI canteen. 

METHODS 

The research was conducted on October 25, 2023 at the canteen of the Public  Health Science Study Program, Faculty of Public Health, Indralaya, Sriwijaya  University. The research was conducted using interviews and observations of food  handlers as many as 4 canteen stands. Before the research was carried out, a  measurement of the description of personal hygiene behavior of food handlers was  carried out to determine the description of personal hygiene behavior of food  handlers. This activity was carried out by students of the Public Health Science  Study Program, Faculty of Public Health, Indralaya, Sriwijaya University.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 

1. Definition Food Handler 

According to the NSW Food Authority (2011), a food handler is any person  who works in a food business and handles food, or who is in direct contact with  the outer surfaces of food (e.g. cutlery, plates). 

1. Risk Factors of Personal Hygene Food Handlers with Disease Incidence Food handlers are people involved in a series of food processing processes  from preparing, cooking, cooling, preserving, reheating and serving food. Food  handlers play an important role in the transmission of foodborne diseases. The  problem of food borne diases is one of the problems caused by food handlers. Food handlers are linked to the incidence of disease as it relates to the  personal hygiene of each handler. During food preparation, food handlers should  maintain good personal hygiene to avoid food contamination. However, many  food-related incidents occur due to food contamination caused by careless  behavior of food handlers and failure to maintain personal hygiene and cleanliness  while working. 

Personal hygiene is a clean attitude of food handler behavior so that food is  not contaminated. In this regard, the hygiene of individuals involved in food  processing needs to be considered to ensure food safety and prevent foodborne  disease transmission. Purnawijayanti, 2015 stated that 25% of all foodborne  illnesses are caused by infected food handlers and poor personal hygiene (Fithri,  2016). 

Based on the results of observations related to the personal hygiene of food  handlers in canteen workers at FKM, it appears that there are still food handlers  who do not perform personal hygiene and there are poor behaviors towards  personal hygiene of workers, for example during the cooking process the worker’s  hands are not only focused on when he cooks but holds other things that are around  him which of course makes the hands not sterile anymore, and there are still many  who do not use sanitation facilities such as not using aprons and head coverings 

during the food processing process (Juhaina, 2020) (Mirawati, Sitorus and Hasyim,  2011) (Fauziah et al., 2020). , 2021). 

1. Food Handler Sterilization Habits 

Food handlers at the FKM UNSRI canteen during processing and serving  wear aprons. It’s just that in practice only a few of the food handlers use complete  personal protective equipment (PPE). 

Food handler sterilization habits 100% of food handlers do not wash their  hands with soap when starting work, hand habits when transitioning from food  management and buying and selling transactions. Food handlers do not use  personal protective equipment such as work clothes, gloves and kitchen footwear. 

According to Arisman on duty every food handler should wear an apron, hair  cap, kitchen shoes, not smoke, not eat or chew anything and not wear jewelry. Bad behavior during food handling is still often seen such as coughing and  sneezing, touching the nose, wearing jewelry, licking food with fingers during  serving, almost all food handlers chatting during the processing process and most  of the food handlers are still in direct contact with the body. 

Food handlers should protect food by using intermediaries to separate food  from anything that could contaminate it at all stages of food processing. Such  intermediaries include gloves, hairnets, mouth covers and aprons. 

According to Gaman & Sherrington (2006), personal hygiene sterilization of  food handlers aims to avoid the spread of bacteria from the body or clothes to food  ingredients. The key points of personal hygiene are: 

1. Hands

Hands should always be washed with warm water and soap every time you  start food preparation. Avoid using towels as they can be a means of transferring  bacteria from one person to another. 

Appropriate hand washing times are after going to the bathroom, before and  after handling chemicals, after taking out the trash, after cleaning dirty tables or 

equipment, after handling clothes or aprons and after handling money (Gisslen,  2006). 

According to Gisslen (2006), for handling foodstuffs, the use of gloves is  highly recommended. The use of gloves can help to create protection between  hands and foodstuffs. However, never use gloves in a handwashing station.  Hands should be washed thoroughly first before using gloves. 

2. Outdoor clothing

Clothes used in the food preparation area must be clean. Avoid using clothes  that are worn outside the food preparation area, especially those that are exposed  to free air. 

3. Jewellery

Personal jewelry can harbor bacteria and may fall into food. Jewelry other  than wedding rings should not be used at all. 

1. Food Layout 

Food handlers at the FKM UNSRI canteen during the serving process wear an  apron. It’s just that in practice only some of the food handlers use complete  personal protective equipment (PPE). 

Food serving must be done according to the type of food. Hot food must be  placed in a container suitable for hot food, as well as for cold food. Food that is  processed immediately, must also be served immediately after processing,  especially for food that must be served hot. Food that is ready to be cooked should  be placed in a food heater so that the heat is retained until it is served. Serve food  covered for hot food. Meanwhile, cold food must be stored in a refrigerator before  serving. Cold food also does not need to be covered if the place of serving is not  far from the place of processing. 

The cleanliness and control of food before serving can affect the health of the  people who will consume it. Food contaminated with bacteria or harmful  ingredients can cause poisoning and illness. There are three types of hazards  caused by errors in food control: biological hazards, chemical hazards and physical 

hazards. Biological hazards include bacterial and parasitic contamination that can  cause disease. This pollution can be caused by air, soil, and water or small animals  in a dirty environment. Not all food served will be eaten immediately, especially  catered food. If it is not stored with food hygiene and sanitation principles before  serving the food, it could be contaminated. 

1. Hand Habits during the Transition from Food Management and Buying  and Selling Transactions 

The competence of human resources (personal hygiene) is one of the main  keys in food safety. Poor food handling has the potential to cause negative impacts  on consumers of the food eaten. The part of the body that has the most contact with  food is the palm of the hand, so it must always be kept clean. 

In buying and selling transactions, there is a process of exchanging money,  receiving and giving change. Food handlers should not be involved in these  activities. Handling food and money together contributes to food-related public  health incidents. Money can be contaminated with bacteria or microorganisms  from free air or dust, contamination of hands holding money, droplets, counting  money by holding saliva, and unsterile storage of money. Some groups of bacteria  that can be found on money include Citrobacter sp., Mycobacterium lepirae,  Salmonella sp., Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella sp,  Streptococcus spp. and Pseudomonas aeroginosa. Awareness of possible health  risks due to money handling when serving/preparing food is required. Therefore,  food handlers should focus on the food handling process and the buying and selling  transaction activities should be done by others to reduce the potential for  contamination.

CONCLUSIONS 

Some influencing factors on food handlers are age, education level and  knowledge level.Food handlers in general have never attended a course on food  sanitation hygiene, and have never received guidance and supervision from relevant  agencies. 

Handler behavior is 100% not washing hands with soap when starting work,  hand habits when transitioning from food management and buying and selling  transactions. Food handlers do not use personal protective equipment such as work  clothes, gloves, aprons and kitchen footwear. Food handlers do not use personal  protective equipment such as head coverings, work clothes, gloves and kitchen  footwear. 

ADVICE 

It is expected that students of the Faculty of Public Health, can provide  continuous training, education, and / or information related to personal hygiene to  all food handlers or leaflet media related to personal hygiene of food handlers in the  FKM UNSRI canteen. 

Food handlers are expected to maintain Personal Hygiene when serving food,  maintain behavior so that food is not contaminated, and wear personal protective  equipment properly and correctly. 

REFERENCES 

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cfns (2013). Pentingnya Personal Hygiene dalam Mewujudkan Keamanan Pangan – cfns.ugm.ac.id/id/. [online] Ugm.ac.id. Available at:  https://cfns.ugm.ac.id/2020/07/20/pentingnya-personal-hygiene-dalam mewujudkan-keamanan-pangan/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2023]. 

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Author

1. Khistian Damayanti
2. Naurah Salsabila Lukita
3. Liona Ayu Permata Kusuma
4. Muhammad Faaiz Aqiilah