How to choose workwear for food industry staff?
Workwear for food industry employees must always be hygienically clean and comfortable. Surely, none of us wants to find a torn button or hair in our food, or see the chef preparing meals in dirty clothes. Let’s ensure that both employees and customers can enjoy pleasant experiences untainted by problems caused by spoiled food.
Food industry businesses benefit from preparing for hygiene inspectors to visit their facilities at any given time. These inspectors regularly check whether businesses follow the strict hygiene standards are in the production and storage of food.
Appropriate work garments are subject to food industry standards and should comply with food safety hygiene regulations. Good workwear ensures that products are protected from the risk of contamination by employees. This article will teach you all about high-quality workwear in the food industry and give you tips on what to consider when looking for staff uniforms.
Managing risk levels in the food industry with workwear
All food establishments, including restaurants, sweet shops, bakeries, food production facilities, and more, must strictly adhere to the requirements and rules associated with working with food.
Production areas, and therefore the working environment in the food industry, vary according to the different types of products. The faster food products perish, the higher the risk level. The level of risk determines the choice of work clothing and the frequency with which employees change from dirty to clean clothes.
The risk levels are divided into three categories. The maximum risk arises from handling non-packaged, ready-to-eat perishable foods. There is also a high risk when handling non-perishable, unpackaged food and raw materials where further industrial processing takes place, e.g., raw meat.
Low risk is when handling non-perishable and packaged foods or ingredients such as coffee, tea, and similar products.
Depending on the risk level of individual food operations, employees wear different workwear. The higher the risk of contamination, the stricter the requirements for work clothes, their design, and their replacement. For example, in the areas with the highest risks, work clothes must not have any pockets. Staff can only have internal pockets, preventing small items from accidentally falling into the food products. Clients (such as retailers) are increasingly demanding that their suppliers comply with food standards and carry out regular audits. However, clothing collections can be standardised to meet widely used international and national standards such as ISO 22000, BRC, Tesco and HACCP.
Operating temperature at the workplace
Food establishments often have different work and climatic conditions. In some places, it is very hot, for example, in a bakery when baking bread and buns. In others, it is cold, e.g. in a cold store or refrigerated storage space. Workwear for the food industry should always allow the employee to feel comfortable at work.
This means wearing lightweight materials, a white work coat or shirt, breathable trousers, and a work cap to prevent hair from falling into the food in an operation where temperatures are high. In cold areas, workers must be provided with warm clothes, such as fleece jackets, to wear under their coats or blouses.
How to keep workwear in the food industry hygienically clean
Hygiene is particularly important in the food industry. At Lindström, we can provide and maintain hygienically clean workwear for all food production staff. We can also ensure that the garments are comfortable and that employees look good in them. We take care of all your worries about work textiles, including designing and producing them for you. Our service includes washing and maintaining the workwear. During maintenance, we comply with the European standard EN 14065, which specifies the required level of hygiene for food textiles.
All our employees follow strict hygiene and infection prevention guidelines. We will take care of your workwear professionally, just the way you need it.
Visual cleanliness and hygienic cleanliness are two different things. We will replace the dirty laundry with clean laundry, deliver everything hygienically packed and according to the agreed schedules. We will repair any damaged items, discard the ruined ones and replace them. As a result, we reduce the consumption of work clothes and engage in circular economy practices, striving to minimise the environmental impact of our operations.
Work comfortably while remaining stylish
Lindström workwear service is a convenient solution for food industry employees, enabling comfortable workdays for people in all areas of the industry. Whether working in a hot or cold environment, we ensure that our garments stay practical, hygienically clean, and fit for purpose.
Customer Spotlight:
A reliable workwear service partner simplifies business operations
The idea to renew our workwear collection came from the fact that our factory is terribly hot in the summer. We started thinking about how we could improve the working conditions for our employees. Cooling a big factory is very expensive. So the idea to make breathable workwear from wood raw material was brilliant from this point of view as well. I am incredibly proud of our workwear.
Sari Miettinen-Rantala, Factory Manager, Nestlé
High-quality workwear is very important in my job. It guarantees that no impurities contaminate the production line. For me, it is important that our products remain safe and that the food is exactly as clean as we promise our customers.
Waltteri Hakkinen, Quality Supervisor, Atria
It was very easy to find all we needed in the Lindström range. That is, comfortable clothes that meet all the quality standards of the food industry for every work section.
Kaisa Ringmäe, Quality Director, E-piim Cheese and Butter Production Plant
Before and during a service partnership, we consider the nature of employees’ daily tasks and individual needs. For instance, tailored trouser lengths for safety reasons and designing different cuts for male and female staff. At the same time, we make each employee shine and ensure that they stay stylish in our garments. Through the online customer portal e-Lindström, it is easy to keep track of all things textile-related.
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