Food Safety Guide for Event Catering
The methods of handling, storing, cooking and displaying of foods, from the point they leave home-base through to point of sale, have to be thought through well before the day of the event. Basic hygiene principles should be applied at each stage of the operation.
- Try to choose food items which can be stored, cooked and served safely.
- Use staff who are experienced and able to demonstrate good practices throughout the whole operation.
For the purpose of this document high risk foods are those that readily support the growth of micro-organisms at ambient temperature, and will therefore require strict temperature control.
Food Delivery:
Food must be transported in a safe and hygienic manner, in particular:-
- No food should be placed so it’s at a risk of contamination. Open food must be kept covered, and raw and cooked foods must be stored separately.
- All high risk food should be transported at the correct temperature; i.e. 8°C or less for chilled food (preferably 5°C), -18°C for frozen food.
- All food containers must be suitable for the purpose, clean and in good condition.
Food Storage:
One of the main problems facing caterers is the provision of adequate storage facilities. All open food must be protected from risk of contamination and must not be stored on the ground. Proper containers and covers must be provided and used where necessary.
Temperature Control:
Effective temperature control is one of the most important safeguards when considering high risk foods. The basic principle to adhere to is that all high risk food should be kept hot (above 63°C) or cold (below 8°C). You should have some means available to check this, such as a thermometer and all temperatures should be recorded. The only time high risk foods should be at ambient temperature is during preparation or, if they are definitely to be sold within 2 hours, when they are displayed for sale.
You must ensure adequate refrigeration facilities are provided for the storage of high risk foods for which the temperature in the refrigerator should be 8°C or less. You may need to consider hiring extra refrigeration to ensure there is enough storage for high risk food.
Alternatively if you are selling hot food you must ensure that adequate facilities e.g. ovens, bain maries are available for thorough cooking, to at least 75°C in the centre, and for maintaining food at a temperature of at least 63°C after cooking.
If it is necessary to prepare large quantities of food it should, on completion of cooking, be transferred to shallow trays and cooled to 8°C or less as quickly as possible, and in all cases within 1½ hours. Such trays must be adequately screened or covered to prevent contamination.
Cooled food should be kept at 8°C or less after cooling. Any foods subsequently reheated should be thoroughly heated to the original cooking temperature. Any hot food left over at the end of the trading session should be disposed of. Keeping high risk food at the correct temperature is a priority. Thermometers should be used to check that temperatures are correct and you must ensure
that cross-contamination does not occur during its use.
Cross-Contamination:
There is a serious risk of cross-contamination where the same equipment and utensils are used in the preparation of both raw and cooked foods. Separate utensils must be used and the foods must be prepared on separate surfaces. Preparation surfaces must be regularly cleaned and disinfected throughout the event.
- Disposable, single-use, wiping cloths should be used where possible.
- Food should be handled as little as possible.
All cooked and raw foods should be stored in separate chilled facilities, if possible. In any case, cooked food must be stored above raw food at all times.
Personal Hygiene:
People must be clean and wear clean overclothing, which covers outdoor clothing, if handling open food. Hands must be washed as often as is appropriate to ensure there is no risk of contamination of any food, particularly after handling raw food, visiting the toilet or handling rubbish. Wearing gloves is not a substitute for hand washing.
Any food handler who is aware, or becomes aware, of food poisoning symptoms (such as vomiting and/or diarrhoea) affecting themselves must not handle food and must not return to work until clear of symptoms for 48hrs.
First Aid:
All stalls must have an adequate first aid kit. The list below is considered suitable for up to 5 persons:
- Ten individually wrapped sterile waterproof adhesive plasters (preferably blue or green).
- One sterile eye pad.
- One triangular bandage.
- One sterile covering for a serious wound.
- Six safety pins.
- Three medium sized sterile dressings.
- One large sterile dressing.
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