What are the basic best practices for disease prevention in the workplace? i'm starting a small catering company which will have about 35 employees. as a part of health management, i would like to know if there are guidelines i can put in place to minimiz

As : As you are starting a business, you will have to abide by all sanitary and safety regulations imposed by the government/regulatory bodies. Here are some basic safety rules surrounding sanitation/quality: 1. Practice good hand hygiene. Employees should wash their hands before eating/drinking, after eating/drinking, upon entrace into the kitchen and prior to touching clean utensils, before touching food, upon exit of the kitchen. Establish 'moments' for handwashing consistently. For instance:"always wash hands before entering the kitchen." hand washing is the single most effective way of preventing infection. 2. Do not eat or drink in the kitchen/cooking area. This is a place of work. Raw foods are present and can contaminate the hands. Touching food and ingesting bacteria from raw food can cause food borne illness. Do not allow eating and drinking in the cooking area. 3. Label all containers with content and expiration dates. It is always best to label a container with the "throw away" date. 4. Empy trash cans everyday, unless they are empty. 5. Based on the space, establish a maximum amount of people that can work in the space at a time. Overcrowding can promote contamination or poor hand hygiene. 6. Create duty lists and logs which help you monitor refrigerator tempurature, environmental cleaning/disinfectant accountability, daily check of operating equipment and stocking of supplies. 7. Ensure a fire extinguisher is handy and that employees know how to use it. Also, ensure the employees have an exit route in case of a fire. Hope this is helpful. These are some of the quality guidelines used in the hospital setting.

There : There are entire college courses on this topic, but here are a few basics: wash your hands before and after eating, keep your hands away from your mouth, cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, encourage employees to stay at home when sick, wipe the telephone with a disinfectant; refrigerate foods and discard frequently. For more information, visit www.Osha.Gov.