Covering Cuts and Wounds: Food Handlers

Food handlers must cover any cut, wound, graze or skin lesion with a clean, waterproof dressing before handling food. In Australian kitchens the standard is a brightly coloured — usually blue — waterproof, detectable dressing, because blue does not occur naturally in food and makes a lost dressing easy to spot. Where the wound is on a hand or finger, a single-use glove should be worn over the dressing for extra protection. This keeps bacteria from the wound out of the food and stops the dressing itself from becoming a physical contaminant. Covering cuts and wounds properly is a core personal-hygiene requirement under Standard 3.2.2 of the Food Standards Code. It protects customers from both microbial contamination — an open wound can carry Staphylococcus aureus and other bacteria — and physical contamination if a dressing falls into food unnoticed. Why is covering cuts and wounds so important? An uncovered cut is an open route for bacteria to move between a food handler and the food they prepare. Wounds, especially infected ones, can carry high levels of bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus , which can cause food poisoning. A cut also weeps, and that fluid can contaminate food or surfaces. Covering the wound protects the food from the handler, and protects the wound from contamination too. The second risk is physical. A plain skin-coloured plaster that comes loose in a busy kitchen can end up in food without anyone noticing. That is why Australian food businesses use blue, waterproof, often metal-detectable dressings — the colour is highly visible against food, and detectable dressings can be picked up by metal detectors in businesses that use them. What kind of dressing should food handlers use? The right dressing does three things: stays on, keeps moisture and bacteria contained, and is easy to find if it comes off. According to FSANZ health and hygiene advice for food handlers , cuts and wounds must be completely covered with a waterproof dressing so they cannot contaminate food. Brightly coloured (blue): stands out against most foods so a lost dressing is spotted immediately. Waterproof: keeps wound fluid in and water and bacteria out, and stays on when hands are washed. Detectable where used: metal-detectable strips suit businesses that run metal detection on their product. Well-stocked: blue dressings should be kept in the kitchen first-aid kit so staff never resort to an ordinary plaster. When should a glove be worn over a dressing? For cuts on the hands or fingers, a single-use glove worn over the blue dressing adds an extra barrier and helps hold the dressing in place. This is especially important for anyone handling ready-to-eat food. The glove keeps the dressing secure, stops it working loose during tasks like washing or handling wet ingredients, and provides a second layer between the wound and the food. Gloves are not a substitute for the dressing or for handwashing. Hands must still be washed before the glove goes on, and the glove must be changed regularly — whenever it is damaged, after handling raw food, or when switching tasks. A glove over a dressing is a belt-and-braces approach for hand wounds, not a shortcut around good hygiene. What should staff do if a dressing is lost in food? Because a dressing can come off during service, every kitchen needs a clear plan for when one goes missing. Staff should know to act immediately rather than hope it turns up. A simple response protocol looks like this: Stop work in the affected area straight away and tell the supervisor. Search for the dressing; the blue colour makes this far quicker. Isolate any food that may have been in contact so it is not served. If the dressing cannot be found, discard the potentially affected food rather than risk serving it. Re-cover the wound with a fresh blue dressing before the handler returns to work. Record what happened as a corrective action, including the food affected and the outcome. Logging the incident through a corrective action record shows an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) that your business responds to hazards properly and learns from them. It also helps you spot if dressings are coming loose often, which might point to using a more secure type or adding gloves. How should wounds and illness be reported and recorded? Covering a wound is only part of the picture. Under Standard 3.2.2, food handlers must report conditions that could contaminate food, and a wound that is infected, weeping or badly placed may mean the person should be moved to duties away from open food until it heals. Managers need to know about significant cuts, not just trust that a plaster has been applied. Situation Action Minor cut on hand or finger Clean, apply blue waterproof dressing, cover with a single-use glove Cut elsewhere on the body Cover completely with a blue waterproof dressing Infected or heavily weeping wound Report to supervisor; consider duties away from open food until healed Dressing lost during service Stop, search, isolate or discard affected food, re-cover, record Keeping a simple record of reported wounds and illness in your staff health and certification records means you can show inspectors that health reporting is routine. The FSANZ website and state health departments such as NSW Health set out the wider health and hygiene duties that sit alongside covering cuts, and pairing wound records with your staff training keeps the whole team aligned. A short, blame-free reporting culture makes all of this work. Staff should feel able to declare a cut without worrying about losing a shift, because the alternative — hiding a wound under an inadequate plaster — is far riskier for the business. Making blue dressings and gloves easy to reach, checking the first-aid kit is stocked as part of your routine, and asking about cuts at the start of a shift turns wound management into a habit rather than an afterthought. When a dressing does go missing, treating it as a normal corrective action rather than a fault encourages honest, fast reporting. Frequently asked questions Why do food handlers use blue plasters? Blue is used because it does not occur naturally in most foods, so a dressing that comes loose is easy to see and remove before it reaches a customer. Many blue dressings are also metal-detectable, letting businesses that use metal detection catch a lost dressing in their product. Do food handlers need to wear gloves over a dressing? For cuts on the hands or fingers, yes — a single-use glove over the blue waterproof dressing adds a barrier and holds the dressing in place. Gloves do not replace handwashing and must be changed regularly, but they are strongly recommended for hand wounds near open food. What happens if a dressing falls into food? Stop work, tell the supervisor, and search for the dressing straight away. Isolate any food it may have touched, and if the dressing cannot be found, discard that food rather than serve it. Re-cover the wound and record the incident as a corrective action. Can someone with a cut still work in a kitchen? Usually yes, if the cut is minor and fully covered with a blue waterproof dressing, and a glove where it is on the hand. An infected, heavily weeping or awkwardly placed wound should be reported, and the person may need duties away from open food until it heals. Covering cuts, recording incidents and tracking staff health are far easier when they live in one system rather than a paper first-aid log. FoodSafety HQ lets you capture wound and illness reports, corrective actions and staff health records together, so nothing slips through and every entry is ready for an inspection. Explore staff health and certification records , or start a free trial from our pricing page .