Employees must ________ hands after employee breaks.

The correct answer is that employees must wash their hands after employee breaks because washing hands is a fundamental practice in food safety, aimed at removing any contaminants that may have been acquired during the break. This ensures that any bacteria or food residues that could pose a risk to food safety are eliminated before food handling resumes. Proper hand washing involves using soap and water, scrubbing for at least 20 seconds, and rinsing thoroughly.

Wiping hands may remove some surface debris but does not effectively eliminate harmful germs, while cleaning can refer to a variety of methods that do not specifically target pathogens as effectively as hand washing does. Drying hands is also important but occurs after the washing process is complete. Thus, ensuring hands are washed is critical for maintaining hygiene and preventing foodborne illnesses in food service environments.