Advantage Good Agricultural Practices Manual

1.3 Clothing and Footwear

Clothing and footwear that are contaminated, dirty, or not in good repair can contaminate food, livestock, poultry, inputs, packaging material and food contact surfaces.

This Good Agricultural Practice applies to:

Farms that have workers who milk livestock or handle eggs, honey, fruit or vegetables. All farms, however, need to consider whether clothing and footwear pose a food safety hazard to food produced on the farm.

What needs to be done

Make sure all workers wear suitable clothing and footwear.

How to do it

• Make sure all workers wear suitable clothing (e.g. coveralls, aprons, footwear) when they enter the farm, field, barn or packinghouse.
• Provide clearly marked areas so there is no confusion about where people need to remove their off-farm clothes and footwear and put on designated farm clothing and footwear.
• Provide a dedicated area for workers' personal effects separate from food handling areas and toilet facilities.
• Make sure workers' clothing and footwear are durable, well maintained and easy to clean.
• Make sure clothing and footwear are not worn or taken into areas where they have the potential to cause cross-contamination (e.g. don't allow workers to shovel manure and then walk into a production or packing area without changing clothing or footwear).
• Use designated clothing and footwear for specific tasks where clothing or footwear cannot remain clean (e.g. pesticide application or manure spreading) and have them stored in designated areas.
• Make sure workers understand the principles of cross-contamination and the importance of wearing and cleaning proper clothing and footwear.
• Provide facilities and materials to clean footwear (e.g. boot wash stations, brushes) for workers where appropriate.
  

In general

• Appropriate signage is helpful to remind workers to follow proper clothing and footwear practices for designated areas on the farm.
• Designate someone to ensure workers are following clothing and footwear practices.
  
  

If you need an audit

Be prepared for the auditor to possibly observe:

• Appropriate storage areas and cleaning facilities for clothing and footwear available to workers
• Dedicated storage areas for workers' personal effects separate from food handling areas and toilet facilities
  
  

Laws and regulations that apply

There are few specific agricultural laws that impact on food safety requiring persons to wear specific clothing or footwear on-farm. Generally, these requirements are laid out in laws regarding the processing of meat, fish and other food products or egg-grading stations, which are outside the scope of this document.

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O. 1, s. 28 (1) (b) and (2), employers may require the use and wearing of equipment, protective devices or clothing. Employers shall not remove or make ineffective any protective devices without providing an adequate temporary device. Under the "New Guidelines for Farming Operations," under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, June 2006, Section Three: Large Animal Handling, workers in contact with animals should wear appropriate personal protective equipment and should be aware of any transmissible diseases that animals may carry and be instructed on how to prevent transmission to themselves and other animals.

Milk Act, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 761, s. 13 (7) (c) requires persons who milk or handle milking equipment to be cleanly dressed.

Pesticide labels are legal requirements under the Pest Control Products Act (Canada) R.S., 1985, c. P-9. Requirements to wear specified personal protective equipment when handling pesticides should be followed.

Proceed to 1.4 Injuries and Illness