We recently interviewed someone for an operator position at our facility, we would like to hire her the only problem is she has a dermal piercing on the side of her cheek. I know the SQF code states that no jewelry of any kind is allowed out on the production floor. However, given the risk assessment, dermal piercings are attached under the skin and can't be removed without surgery, so the risk of the piercing falling out into product is negligible. I was wondering if any of you guys have had this situation pop up before, and what was your solution to it? Or what would your advice be moving forward with this potential hire?
p.s. We already thought about covering it up with a bandage but felt the bandage would pose a bigger threat to contaminating the product than the dermal piercing itself.