How to store personal items, handle phones hygienically, and set eating, drinking and smoking rules in food premises. Practical Australian food-safety guidance.
Personal belongings, mobile phones, food and drink do not belong in areas where food is handled. Bags, jackets, jewellery, phones and half-eaten meals all carry bacteria and can contaminate food, surfaces and equipment. Store personal items away from food, keep phones out of prep zones, and confine eating, drinking and smoking to designated staff areas. Doing this consistently protects your food, your customers and your compliance record under the Food Standards Code. Key takeaways: Store bags, coats, phones and other personal items away from food, packaging, utensils and food-contact surfaces.. Treat mobile phones as high-touch, contaminated objects: keep them out of prep areas, or clean hands after every use.. Confine eating and drinking to a designated staff area, never over open food or preparation benches.. Smoking and vaping are not permitted where food is handled or stored; step outside and wash hands before returning.. Write these rules into your food safety program or staff hygiene policy and train every worker on them.. Personal items and behaviour at a glance: Item or activity, Rule in food handling areas, Where it belongs. Bags, coats, keys — Not on benches, sinks or food shelving — Lockers, hooks or cupboard outside the kitchen. Mobile phone — Keep out; wash hands after any use — Locker, bag or pocket. Eating food — Not over or near open food — Designated staff or break area. Drinking — Lidded container only, away from food (per your policy) — Away from prep surfaces. Smoking or vaping — Not permitted anywhere food is handled or stored — Designated outdoor area. Tasting food — Clean utensil each time, no double-dipping — At the stove, with a fresh spoon. Why personal items are a contamination risk Anything a person brings from outside the kitchen has been in contact with the wider world: public transport, money, door handles, other people. Bags, jackets, keys, phones and personal food carry bacteria, and some may harbour allergens from a worker's own lunch. When these items are placed on prep benches, near open food, or on top of packaging, they become a direct route for cross contamination. Under the Food Standards Code, food businesses must take all practicable measures to prevent the likelihood of food being contaminated, and controlling personal belongings is a basic, expected part of that duty. Personal items are not cleaned or sanitised to food-contact standards.. They move between dirty and clean zones without being noticed.. A worker's own food can introduce allergens absent from your menu.. Environmental health officers routinely check where staff store their belongings.. Where to store bags, coats and belongings Give staff a defined place to put their things that is well away from food handling, food storage, equipment and packaging. Lockers, hooks, shelves or a dedicated cupboard in a break room or staff corridor all work, provided they are not in the kitchen, servery, cool room, dry store or wash-up area. The point is separation: personal items on one side, food and food-contact surfaces on the other, with no overlap. If space is tight, a designated low shelf or wall hooks near the staff entrance is better than benches and prep tables becoming dumping grounds. Provide lockers, hooks or a cupboard outside food handling areas.. Never store bags or clothing on prep benches, sinks or shelving used for food or utensils.. Keep personal items off the floor of storage and prep areas where they create trip and pest risks.. Store street shoes and outerwear away from clean uniforms and aprons.. Mobile phones: the overlooked contamination source Phones are among the most-touched, least-cleaned objects a food handler owns. They travel everywhere, are handled with unwashed hands, and are rarely sanitised. Using a phone during prep and then returning to food, without washing hands, transfers whatever is on the phone straight onto food. The safest approach is to keep phones out of food handling areas entirely and check them on breaks. Where a phone is genuinely needed for work, such as taking orders or looking up a recipe, treat every use as a hand-contamination event: wash and dry hands thoroughly before touching food again. Never rest a phone on a prep bench, chopping board or near open food. Keep personal phones in lockers, bags or pockets, not on benches.. Wash and dry hands after any phone use before returning to food.. Clean and sanitise any shared work device (tablet, order screen) regularly.. Do not photograph or handle food and then touch the phone with the same hands mid-task without re-washing.. Eating and drinking rules Eating over or near open food risks dropping saliva, crumbs, hair or allergens into it, and tasting food with fingers or a re-used spoon is a classic source of contamination. Confine eating to a designated staff area away from food handling. Drinking is a grey area worth clarifying in your policy: many kitchens allow a covered, lidded drink kept away from food and prep surfaces to keep staff hydrated, but open cups on benches are a contamination and spill risk. Decide your rule, write it down, and apply it consistently. When staff taste food during cooking, they should use a clean spoon each time and never double-dip. Eat only in the designated staff or break area, never over prep benches or open food.. If drinks are allowed on the floor, require a lidded container stored away from food.. Taste with a clean utensil each time; never return a used spoon to the pot.. Wash hands after eating or drinking before resuming food handling.. Smoking, vaping and going outside Smoking and vaping must not happen anywhere food is handled or stored, and workplace smoking laws set by your state or territory also apply. Cigarettes and vapes involve constant hand-to-mouth contact, so a worker who smokes or vapes and returns without washing hands brings that contamination back to food. Direct staff to a designated outdoor area, away from doors, deliveries and ventilation intakes, and require thorough handwashing on return. The same principle applies to any break that takes a worker outside the clean zone: treat the return as a fresh start with clean hands and, where used, a clean apron. No smoking or vaping in kitchens, storerooms, cool rooms or serveries.. Use a designated outdoor area away from food, deliveries and air intakes.. Wash and dry hands thoroughly before returning to food handling.. Confirm workplace smoking requirements with your state or territory regulator.. Building it into your food safety program and training Rules only work if they are written, taught and enforced. Add a short personal hygiene section to your food safety program or staff handbook covering storage of belongings, phone use, eating, drinking and smoking. Cover it during induction, reinforce it with signage at entry points and handwash stations, and have supervisors model the behaviour. Because specific requirements can vary by jurisdiction and business type, confirm the details that apply to you with your state or territory regulator and local council. This guide is general information, not legal advice. Document the rules in your food safety program or hygiene policy.. Train new staff at induction and refresh regularly.. Post clear signage at entrances and handwash basins.. Have food safety supervisors monitor and correct non-compliance.. Checklist: Lockers, hooks or a cupboard are provided away from food areas.. No personal belongings are on prep benches, sinks or food shelving.. Phones are kept out of prep zones; handwashing follows any use.. A designated staff area is available for eating and drinking.. Any permitted drinks are lidded and kept away from food.. A designated outdoor smoking or vaping area is signposted.. Handwash basins are stocked and used after breaks, phones and eating.. The rules are written into the food safety program and covered at induction.. Common mistakes: Letting staff dump bags and jackets on prep benches or empty shelves.. Using a phone mid-prep and returning to food without washing hands.. Keeping an open, unlidded drink on the preparation bench.. Eating a personal meal over or beside open food, introducing stray allergens.. Tasting with fingers or re-dipping the same spoon into cooking food.. Smoking or vaping just outside the back door and returning with unwashed hands..
Frequently asked questions
Can food handlers use their mobile phones in the kitchen?
It is best to keep personal phones out of food handling areas and check them on breaks. Phones are high-touch, rarely-cleaned objects that easily transfer bacteria to food. If a phone must be used for work, treat each use as a contamination event and wash and dry your hands thoroughly before touching food again. Never rest a phone on prep surfaces or near open food.
Are staff allowed to drink water in a food preparation area?
There is no single national rule; it comes down to your business policy. Many kitchens permit a covered, lidded drink kept well away from food and prep surfaces so staff stay hydrated, while banning open cups on benches. Decide your approach, write it into your policy, apply it consistently, and require handwashing afterward. Confirm any specific requirements with your state or territory regulator or local council.
Where should staff store their bags and belongings?
Provide a defined storage place away from all food handling, storage and equipment, such as lockers, hooks or a cupboard in a break room or staff corridor. Personal items must never sit on prep benches, sinks, or shelving used for food or utensils. Keeping belongings out of the kitchen reduces cross contamination and pest risk and is expected under general food-safety practice.
Can employees smoke or vape during their shift?
Not anywhere food is handled or stored. Smoking and vaping involve constant hand-to-mouth contact, so they belong in a designated outdoor area away from food, deliveries and air intakes. Workers must wash and dry their hands thoroughly before returning to food handling. Workplace smoking laws set by your state or territory also apply, so confirm the details that cover your premises.
Is it safe to taste food while cooking?
Yes, if done hygienically. Use a clean utensil for each taste and never return a used spoon to the pot or dish, and never taste with your fingers. Double-dipping introduces bacteria from your mouth straight into the food. Wash your hands afterward if needed. Building this simple habit into kitchen routine prevents an easily overlooked source of contamination.