01Chapter 1 of 8 · 4 min
Personal hygiene
You know when to wash your hands, what has no place on hands and forearms, and why gloves do not replace washing.
Legal basis: Reg. 852/2004 Annex II Ch. VIII
You are back from a smoking break and about to fill bread rolls. What comes first?
Background reading
What applies, and where it comes from
Anyone working with food must maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness and wear clean work clothing (Regulation 852/2004). In practice: wash your hands when you start work, after every break, after using the toilet and after handling waste. No jewellery on hands and forearms, short unvarnished nails, wounds covered with a waterproof dressing. Gloves do not replace washing.
The EU Food Hygiene Regulation applies equally in Austria and Germany: anyone working in an area where food is handled maintains a high degree of personal cleanliness and wears suitable, clean clothing and, where necessary, protective clothing.1
The business provides enough washbasins for this, with hot and cold running water, soap and a hygienic way of drying hands.2
Hands are washed when you start work, after every break, after using the toilet, after dirty work and handling waste, and before every new task. The Lüneburg health office advises warm water and liquid soap, for 30 seconds.34
AT — applies in AustriaIn Austria, the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO) recommends washing hands and forearms with soap, drying them with single-use towels and then disinfecting them.3
Jewellery and wristwatches stay off during work. Fingernails are short, clean and unvarnished; artificial nails are not permitted.34
Small wounds on the hands are covered with a waterproof dressing. The WKO recommends a plaster with a glove over it.34
Disposable gloves are not an alternative to handwashing. The WKO warns that they can easily give only the appearance of hygienic work.3
In the kitchen, this includes head covering that is changed daily and covers all the hair. Work clothing and personal clothing are stored separately.34
Sources
We read every source in the original on the date shown and checked it against the text: EU law in its German-language version, the links lead to the English one. All sources and what has changed (in German)
- 1Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, Annex II, Chapter VIII, point 1 · checked 23 September 2026
- 2Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, Annex II, Chapter I, point 4 · checked 23 September 2026
- 3AT — applies in AustriaAustrian Economic Chamber (WKO), handbook on hygiene in hospitality (as of July 2025), Austria, pp. 32–33 (personal hygiene) · in German, checked 23 September 2026
- 4DE — applies in GermanyLüneburg district health office: handout on the follow-up instruction under § 43 IfSG, p. 2 · in German, checked 23 September 2026