During on-the-job training, if a food handler is handling raw poultry and then cooked poultry without changing gloves, what action should the manager take?

• A. Replace gloves and continue working
• B. Wash hands and proceed
• C. Discard the cooked poultry and reinforce correct food handling
• D. Ignore the violation

Answer: (C)

Cross-contamination risk is at play when a worker moves from raw poultry to cooked or ready-to-eat poultry without changing gloves or washing hands. Raw poultry can carry bacteria like Salmonella, and touching cooked poultry with the same gloves can transfer those bacteria. Because of that risk, the safe action is to discard the cooked poultry to prevent serving contaminated food. After discarding, the manager should reinforce proper handling: always change gloves after handling raw meat and before touching cooked or ready-to-eat foods, wash hands, and sanitize surfaces to prevent a repeat.