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General Requirements for kitchen facilities:

To meet acceptable standards within catering areas, kitchen facilities should meet the following general requirements:

• The kitchen must be designed and built in a way that allows you to keep the place clean and to work hygienically. They must also be designed to keep out pests, such as flies and rats.

• The kitchen must have enough washbasins for staff to wash their hands.

• There must also be enough toilets and these must not lead directly into food areas.

• Basins for washing hands must have hot and cold running water. Provide soap and materials for drying hands hygienically, such as disposable towels.

• You must provide adequate facilities for staff to change their clothes, where necessary.

• You must make adequate arrangements for food waste and other types of rubbish to be stored and removed.

• There must be an adequate supply of drinking water for staff.

Food Preparation Areas:

The following rules apply to rooms where food is prepared:

• Floors and walls, and surfaces in contact with food, must be in a „sound condition’ They must be easy to clean and (where necessary) to disinfect. In practice, this means that floors, walls and surfaces should be smooth, hard-wearing, washable and in a good state of repair.
• Ceilings must be designed and constructed in a way that prevents condensation, build-up of dirt, moulds, and shedding of particles. In practice, this means that ceilings should be in good condition, smooth and easy to clean, with no flaking paint or plaster.
• Windows and doors and any other openings must be designed and built in a way that prevents dirt building up. Windows and doors that can be opened to the outside must be fitted with insect-proof screens, where necessary.
• All equipment that comes into contact with food must be kept in good repair and be made in a way that allows it to be cleaned thoroughly and, where necessary, to be disinfected.
• The kitchen must have adequate facilities for cleaning and disinfecting any tools, utensils and equipment used in the storage, preparation and service of food. There must be an adequate supply of hot and cold water.
• You must have a separate sink for washing food (not the same one used for equipment and utensils). There must be an adequate supply of hot and/or cold water.
• Always use basins and sinks for the right purpose. Staff should wash their hands in basins that are used just for washing hands. They should never wash their hands in a sink used for cleaning equipment or a sink used for washing food. Equipment should be cleaned in a sink used just for that purpose. And food should be washed in a sink used just for washing food. It is helpful if this is signed.

Essential Hygiene Practices

Good food hygiene is essential to make sure that the food you serve is safe to eat. The four main issues to remember for good hygiene are the 4 Cs:

• Cleaning
• Cooking
• Chilling
• Cross-contamination

You can use the 4 Cs to help you prevent the most common food safety problems. The following sections explain how you can use each one.

Cleaning

Effective cleaning removes bacteria from hands, equipment and surfaces. So it helps to stop bacteria from spreading onto food. You should ensure that the following actions are carried out:

• Make sure that all your staff wash and dry their hands thoroughly before handling food.
• Clean food areas and equipment between different tasks, especially after handling raw food.
• Clean as you go. If you spill some food, clear it up straight away and then clean the surface thoroughly.
• Use cleaning products that are suitable for the job, and follow the manufacturer’ s instructions.
• Do not let food waste build up

A cleaning schedule is a good way to make sure that surfaces and equipment are clean when they need to be. It can also help to stop cleaning products being wasted or used incorrectly. Work out what needs cleaning every day, or more than once a day, and what needs cleaning less frequently. Your schedule should show:

• What needs to be cleaned
• Who is responsible for doing the cleaning?
• How often it needs to be done
• How the cleaning should be carried out?
• What health and safety controls need to be followed?

It is a good idea to include cleaning instructions showing:

• What cleaning products should be used
• How the products should be used, including how much they should be diluted and how long they should be left in contact with the surface (following the manufacturer’s instructions)
• How the products should be stored (in a special place away from food)

Keep dishcloths and tea towels clean and replace them frequently. Otherwise, they could spread bacteria.

Cooking

Thorough cooking kills harmful bacteria in food. Therefore, it is extremely important to make sure that food is cooked properly. Undercooked food could cause food poisoning. When cooking or reheating food, always check that it is piping hot all the way through (and do not reheat more than once).

It is especially important to make sure that you thoroughly cook poultry, rolled joints and products made from minced meat, such as burgers and sausages. This is because there could be elevated levels of bacteria in the middle of these types of meat.

Proper cooking is essential to kill any bacteria, so these types of meat should not be served pink or rare. Prime cuts (such as steaks) or joints of beef, lamb or pork can be served pink/rare if requested.

When you are keeping cooked food hot, you must keep it above 63° C. When you are serving or displaying hot food, it can be displayed C for a maximum of two hours.

However, you can only do this once. Then you must throw the food away, or cool it as quickly as possible and keep it chilled until it is used.

Of course, different dishes need different cooking times. If you work out the temperature and time you need to cook a particular dish in your oven, you can use these settings and times to cook the dish in the future. But remember, ovens and other equipment can vary and go wrong, so you will need to check regularly that these settings and times are still right to cook dishes properly. Full use of a probe thermometer and wipes should be made.

Chilling

Chilling food properly stops bacteria from growing and multiplying. Some foods need to be kept chilled to keep them safe, for example food with a “Use by” date, food that you have cooked and will not serve immediately, or other ready-to-eat food such as prepared salads. It is very important not to leave these types of food standing around at room temperature. So, make sure you do the following things:

• Check chilled food on delivery to make sure it is cold.
• Put food that needs to be chilled in the fridge straight away.
• Cool cooked food as quickly as possible and then put it in the fridge.
• Keep chilled food out of the fridge for the shortest time possible during preparation.
• Check regularly that your fridge and display units are cold enough.
• Keep raw food below ready-to-eat food in the fridge.
• If possible, use separate fridges for raw and ready-to-eat food.

Chilled food must be kept at or below n practice, the coldest part of your fridge should be between and C to make sure that food is kept cold enough. Use a fridge thermometer to check regularly that your fridge and any display units are cold enough. Food will cool more quickly if you divide it into smaller amounts and put it in shallow dishes. 

Cross-Contamination

Cross-contamination is when bacteria spread between food, surfaces or equipment. It is most likely to happen when raw food touches (or drips onto) ready-to-eat food, equipment or surfaces. So, if raw meat drips onto a cake in the fridge, bacteria will spread from the meat to the cake.

If you cut raw chicken on a chopping board, bacteria will spread from the chicken to the board and knife. If you then use the same board and knife (without washing them thoroughly) to chop a cucumber, the bacteria will spread from the board and knife to the cucumber. Hands can also spread bacteria. If you touch raw food and do not wash your hands thoroughly you can spread bacteria to the other things you touch.

Cross-contamination is one of the most common causes of food poisoning. Do the following things to avoid it cross-contamination.

• Keep raw and ready-to-eat foods apart at all times.
• Wash your hands thoroughly after touching raw food.
• Clean work surfaces, chopping boards and equipment thoroughly before you start preparing food and after you have used them to prepare raw food.
• Ideally, use different chopping boards and knives for raw and ready-to-eat food.

Personal Hygiene and Illness:

To keep food safe, it is essential that all people involved in the preparation and service of food have high standards of personal hygiene. It is particularly important to wash and dry hands regularly, especially:

• Before starting work
• Before starting a new task
• After touching raw food, especially meat or poultry
• After a break
• After going to the toilet
• After emptying a bin

Although most people know they should wash their hands before handling food, many people still do not do it and bacteria can spread easily from hands to food and surfaces. So, make hand washing a habit right from the start. To wash hands thoroughly, use warm water and soap. Work up the lather and rub your palms, backs of hands, fingers and thumbs. Then rinse with clean water and dry using a disposable towel or hot-air dryer.

Staff working with food should:

• Wear clean clothes and an apron or protective garment
• Cover cuts or sores with clean waterproof dressings
• Wash hands after blowing their nose or touching their face or hair
• Tie long hair back or wear a hairnet

They should not:

• Cough or sneeze over food
• Smoke in food areas
• Wear jewellery, such as rings or earrings, nail varnish, or false nails

If you or one of your staff has symptoms of food poisoning, such as diarrhoea, vomiting or stomach pains, they must not handle food and must leave food preparation areas straight away.

Make sure that staff tell their line manager if they have any type of illness or skin condition. If you are not sure whether someone should be working with food, ask for advice from a doctor.

Storage

It is very important to store food properly to keep it safe. Make sure you do the following:

• Keep foods in the fridge if they need to be chilled
• Store raw food apart from ready-to-eat food
• Never use food after the „Use by’ date, because it might not be safe to eat
• If you save cooked food to be eaten later, cool it quickly, put it in the fridge and use within two days – it is a good idea to date food, using stickers you can write on, so you always know how old food is.
• Check food with a short shelf life every day to make sure it is still within its „Use by’ date.
• Follow any storage instructions on food packaging.
• Store dried foods (such as grains and pulses) off the floor, ideally in sealable containers, to allow proper cleaning and protect them from pests

Kitchen related Health and Safety:

Dermatitis (carry out an assessment)

Work related contact dermatitis is caused by a lot of contact with water, soaps and cleaning products (i.e., washing-up, washing food, hand washing), and even contact with some foods (some foods can cause „allergic‟ dermatitis)

What can you do?

Avoid direct contact with cleaning products, water and food where this is possible and sensible – for instance use a dishwasher rather than washing up by hand, use tools such as tongs to handle food rather than your hands.

Protect the skin. Avoiding contact will not always be possible, so wear non-latex gloves where you can and particularly when cleaning. Protect the skin by moisturising as often as possible.

Check hands regularly for the first signs of dermatitis – itchy, dry or red skin. When it is spotted early, it can be treated.

Slips and trips

Most slip injuries happen on wet floors and trips are due to poor housekeeping. It is essential that you plan ahead to deal with any such problems during busy periods when the pace of work increases. Issues that should be considered are as follows:

• Stop the floor from getting wet or being contaminated
• Maintain equipment to prevent any leaks of oil or water
• Have a system for reporting any equipment faults
• Instruct staff on the right cleaning methods (clean to dry), or use a wet floor warning sign to keep people off the wet area
• Proper floor surfaces should have enough roughness but be easy to clean
• Ensure all areas are properly lit
• Select the correct footwear, flat shoes with a good tread pattern and a flexible sole
• Make sure that there are no uneven floors or level changes
• Rearrange the work area
• Use manual handling aids if possible

Knives

Careless use usually involves cuts to the upper arm and torso, the following should be considered:

• Train employees
• Use the knife suitable for the task
• Keep knives sharp
• Cut on a stable surface
• Handle carefully when washing up
• Carry a knife with the blade pointing down
• Store knives securely
• Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as required e.g., for deboning a suitable protective glove should be worn on the non-knife hand
• Sharpen knives with a sharpening steel
• Ensure staff do not run with knives

Manual handling

Examples of how to reduce manual handling problems:

• Store heavy items on shelves at waist height
• Store heavy items nearer the area they are to be used in
• Use team working for tasks such as moving a heavy pot
• Buying cooking oil in easier-to-handle cardboard boxes with sturdy handles
• Putting heavy equipment such as chest freezers on lockable castors to make cleaning routines easier

Environmental factors

The following factors should be considered:

• Provide good ventilation systems
• Clean cooker hoods and fume extraction systems
• Take rest breaks in cool places
• Provided protective clothing for working in freezers

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