Syracuse University Food Services will begin enforcing a policy requiring all employees to be clean-shaven in March 2016.

Lynne Mowers, secretary to the director of SUFS, said in an email that the clean-shaven policy, which states that beards and mustaches are not allowed, has been in place for many years but has not been enforced. Exceptions will be made for religious and medical conditions, she said.

“There have been, and will continue to be, exemptions to the policy for religious and medical reasons,” Mowers said.

She added that she is not worried about this new policy affecting employees’ religious freedom. Mowers added that any employee granted an exemption due to a religious or medical condition is required to wear a beard guard while working in food preparation areas.

Mowers said when it was discovered that not all SU food services locations were actively enforcing the policy last spring, the department again reiterated the requirement to all employees.

The purpose of the policy, Mowers said, is to ensure proper sanitation and safety for the customers that SUFS serves.

“The reason is to help ensure that facial hair does not fall into the food being served,” Mowers said. “Similar to the requirement that our staff must wear hats or hairnets; to do all we can to make sure that no hair gets into the customers’ food.”