Food Safety and Hygiene

Effective handwashing is an essential part of food safety and hygiene.

Hands must always be washed:

1. Before touching or handling any food;
2. After touching raw meat, poultry, fish, eggs, unwashed vegetables and any packaging used for raw foods;
3. After taking a break or going to the toilet;
4. After touching or emptying bins;
5. After any cleaning;
6. After touching a cut or changing a dressing;
7. After touching items touched or handled by others, such as phones, light switches, door handles or money;
8. After touching your hair, face, blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing;
9. Before helping residents with their meals/drink;
10. After helping residents to use the toilet, bathe etc.;
11. After emptying bed pans or commodes;
12. After using medical equipment;
13. Before and after handling medication;
14. After touching dirty linen and clothing;
15. After handling animals or their feeding bowls.

To wash hands effectively, see below.

Source: Food Standards Agency 

If you think another member of staff has not washed their hands, emphasise how important it is to wash their hands when working with food. If they do not wash them straight away tell a manager or the registered manager.

Disposable gloves

If the service uses disposable gloves for food preparation, this is not an alternative to effective handwashing. Hands should be washed before using gloves and afterwards. Gloves should be disposed of after use and if damaged. Gloves should be changed regularly, especially after handling raw food.

Hand gels and waterless soaps

Hygienic hand rubs and gels can be useful when used as an additional precaution but should never be used as a replacement for effective handwashing.

Cross-contamination happens when harmful bacteria, viruses or allergens are spread onto food from other food, surfaces, hands or equipment. It is one of the most common causes of food poisoning.

Personal hygiene measures

Caption: Personal hygiene measures

What to do	Why?
Always wash your hands thoroughly before handling and preparing food.	Handwashing is one of the best ways to prevent harmful bacteria and viruses from spreading.
Wear clean clothes when working with food. Ideally, try to change into clean clothes just before starting work and not wear these clothes outside food preparation areas.	Clothes can bring dirt and bacteria into food preparation areas. Wearing clean clothes helps to prevent this.
Clothes should ideally be light-coloured with no external pockets.	Light colours show dirt clearly.
It is a good idea to wear a clean apron or disposable apron over clothes. Any apron should be changed after working with raw food e.g. meat, poultry, eggs or unwashed vegetables.	Aprons help to stop dirt and bacteria from getting onto work clothes and they can be removed easily for washing or thrown away if disposable.
It is good practice to keep hair tied back and wear a hat when preparing food.	If hair is not tied back or covered, it is more likely to fall into food and you are more likely to touch your hair.
You should not wear watches or jewellery when preparing food (except a plain wedding band).	Watches and jewellery can collect and spread dirt and harmful bacteria and fall into the food.
You should not smoke, drink, eat or chew gum while handling food.	All of these lead to you touching their face or mouth. Harmful bacteria can be spread from your face or mouth to your hands and then onto food.
You should avoid touching your face or nose, or coughing and sneezing over or near food, and wash your hands if you do.	Harmful bacteria can be spread from your face or mouth to your hands and then onto food.

Fitness for work 

Caption: Fitness for work table

What to do	Why?
You should be ‘fit for work’ at all times. This means that you must not be suffering from, or carrying, an illness or disease that could cause a problem with food safety.	People who are not ‘fit for work’ could spread harmful bacteria or viruses to food.
If you have diarrhoea and/or vomiting this should reported to a manager immediately and you should either stay at home or go home straight away.	People suffering from these symptoms often carry harmful bacteria on their hands and can spread them to food or equipment they touch.
If you have had diarrhoea and/ or vomiting you should not return to work until you have had no symptoms for 48 hours.	Even if the diarrhoea and vomiting has stopped, you can still carry harmful bacteria for 48 hours afterwards.
You should tell a manager if you have any cuts or sores and these should be completely covered with a brightly coloured waterproof dressing.	Cuts and sores can carry harmful bacteria. Covering them prevents bacteria from spreading to food. Coloured waterproof dressings can be seen more easily if they drop into food.

Cloths 

Caption: Cloths table

What to do	Why?
Use disposable cloths wherever possible and throw them away after each task.	This will make sure that any bacteria and allergens picked up by the cloth will not be spread.
Always use a new or freshly cleaned and disinfected cloth to wipe work surfaces, equipment or utensils that will be used with ready-to-eat food.	It is especially important to protect ready-to-eat food from bacteria. This is because the food will not be cooked, so any bacteria on the food will not be killed.
Cloths used on floors must not be used on other surfaces.
Take away re-usable cloths for thorough washing and disinfection after using them with raw meat/poultry, eggs or raw vegetables – and surfaces that have touched these foods.	Raw meat/poultry and eggs are more likely to contain harmful bacteria than other foods. The soil on vegetables can also contain harmful bacteria.
If using re-usable cloths, make sure they are thoroughly washed, disinfected and dried properly between tasks (not just when they look dirty).	If using re-usable cloths, make sure they are thoroughly washed, disinfected and dried properly between tasks (not just when they look dirty).
Ideally, wash cloths in a washing machine on a very hot cycle. A suitably high temperature can be obtained using a hot cycle of 90°C.	A hot wash cycle will clean the cloths thoroughly and kill bacteria (disinfect).
If you wash and disinfect cloths by hand, make sure all the food and dirt has been removed by washing in hot soapy water before you disinfect them. After washing, you can disinfect by using boiling water or a suitable disinfectant, following the manufacturer’s instructions (please note bleach is not a suitable disinfectant).	If food or dirt is still on the cloths, this will prevent the disinfection process from being effective, so harmful bacteria might not be killed.

If you notice dirty cloths in the kitchen, remove them for cleaning immediately or throw them away.

Disposable cloths should be used for wiping surfaces, mopping up spills, wiping hands, wiping sides of dishes before service, drying ingredients. Throw the cloth away after using it.

Separating foods

Caption: Separating foods

What to do	Why?
Plan any deliveries so that, if possible, raw foods arrive at different times to other foods. If delivered together, raw and ready-to-eat foods must be kept separate.	This helps to prevent harmful bacteria spreading from raw foods to ready-to-eat foods.
Ideally, store raw and ready-to-eat food in separate fridges, freezers and display units. If they are in the same unit, store raw meat, poultry, fish and eggs below ready-to-eat food. Unwashed fruit and vegetables should also be kept separate from ready-to-eat food and above raw meat.	This helps to prevent harmful bacteria spreading from raw food to ready-to-eat food.
Use either separate containers for raw & ready-to-eat foods or clean and disinfect between uses.	This helps to prevent harmful bacteria spreading from raw food to ready-to-eat food.
Cover cooked foods and other raw and ready-to-eat food using lids, foil or cling film. Coverings for raw and ready to eat foods should be kept separate.	This helps to prevent harmful bacteria spreading from raw food to ready-to-eat food.
Keep raw foods that are defrosting in the fridge in a covered container, below ready-to-eat food, or in a separate area of the kitchen away from other foods.	When raw foods are defrosting, the liquid that comes out can contain harmful bacteria, which could spread to other foods.
Prepare raw foods in different areas. If this is not possible, separate by preparing them at different times to ready-to-eat foods and thoroughly clean and disinfect between tasks.	Harmful bacteria from raw meat/ poultry can spread from chopping boards and knives to other foods.
Where possible, ready-to-eat food preparation should take place before raw food preparation.	Harmful bacteria from raw meat/ poultry can spread from chopping boards and knives to other foods.
Dedicated colour coded chopping boards and utensils should be used.	Harmful bacteria from raw meat/ poultry can spread from chopping boards and knives to other foods.
Do not wash raw meat or poultry.	Washing meat does not kill bacteria and allergens, but it can splash harmful bacteria around the kitchen contaminating sinks, taps and surfaces and ready-to-eat food.
Wash unwashed vegetables, salad and fruit in a separate, dedicated sink under running water. Where this is not possible, and the sink is used for other tasks, clean and disinfect the sink and use a dedicated bowl to protect the food during washing. Then place in a colander for a final rinse under running water.	To remove soil residues (which may contain bacteria) and pesticides on the fruit, salad and vegetables which may stop it being safe to eat.
Always use separate equipment, such as slicers or mincers, for raw and ready-to-eat food.	It is not possible to remove harmful bacteria from complex machinery and these bacteria can spread to food.
When you add raw meat during cooking, make sure it does not touch or drip onto the food already cooking or onto ready-to-eat foods.	Bacteria could spread from raw meat to other food and stop it being safe to eat.
Remember to wash your hands after handling raw meat or its packaging.	Bacteria could spread from raw meat to other food and stop it being safe to eat.

If you think that ready-to-eat food has not been kept separate from raw food, throw away the food.

If equipment/surfaces/utensils have been touched by raw food, wash, disinfect and dry them to prevent harmful bacteria from spreading.

Food allergies

Any ingredients that a resident is allergic to must be clearly recorded in their individual care or support plan and communicated to staff preparing food.

Allergens that must be declared on packaging and menus are:

• Nuts;
• Peanuts;
• Eggs;
• Milk;
• Fish;
• Crustaceans;
• Molluscs;
• Cereals containing gluten (wheat, barley, rye and oats);
• Celery;
• Lupin;
• Mustard;
• Sesame seeds;
• Soya;
• Sulphur Dioxide.

Caption: Food allergies

What to do	Why?
Make sure, at the point of delivery, you label the food and check you have all the ingredient information you need from the supplier.
Make sure you do not contaminate foods for an allergic resident while you are preparing food for them - see separating above.	This helps to prevent small amounts of food that a resident is allergic to getting into the dish accidentally, which could prove fatal.
Check the labelling information before preparing a dish to make sure that any ingredients used do not contain the food a resident is allergic to, including oils, dressings, glazes, sauces and garnishes. If the labels of any of the ingredients you are using to prepare that dish say they may contain certain food allergens or are not suitable for certain food allergy sufferers, you need to let the resident know and ask them if they still wish to eat the dish.	This helps to prevent small amounts of food that a resident is allergic to getting into the dish accidentally, which could prove fatal.
You should also have separate preparation boards and equipment dedicated to allergy-free meals.	This helps to prevent small amounts of the food that a resident is allergic to getting into the dish accidentally, which could prove fatal.
If you make a mistake when preparing a dish for a resident with a food allergy, do not just remove the ingredient containing the allergen from the dish and still serve the food - start from scratch with fresh ingredients.	This helps to prevent small amounts of food that a resident is allergic to getting into the dish accidentally, which could prove fatal.
Remember: unlike bacteria, allergens are always present in the food and cannot be removed or destroyed by cooking.
It is important to make sure all foods are labelled clearly listing the allergens in the food, fully covered, resealed or placed into sealed containers if needed and any food spillages in storage areas/equipment are cleaned up quickly. Make sure you clearly label containers with the ingredients.	Allergens can easily be transferred from one food to another, meaning allergen-free foods can become contaminated and no longer allergen free. This poses a risk to a resident with a food allergy being served food and suffering an allergic reaction.

If you think a resident is having a severe allergic reaction:

1. Do not move them;
2. Ring 999 and ask for an ambulance with a paramedic straight away;
3. Explain that the resident could have anaphylaxis (pronounced ‘anna-fill-axis’);
4. Send someone outside to wait for the ambulance;
5. If the resident has an adrenalin or Epi pen, help them to get it.

Physical and chemical contamination

Caption: Physical and chemical contamination

What to do	Why?
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to use and store cleaning chemicals. Store cleaning chemicals separately from food and make sure they are clearly labelled.	This is to prevent these chemicals from getting into food.
Keep food covered.	This helps to stop things falling into the food.
Make sure you control pests effectively (see pest control below). Make sure that any chemicals you use to control pests are used and stored in the correct way and clearly labelled.	This is to stop insects, droppings etc. getting into food, as well as preventing the spread of bacteria.
Always clear and clean as you go and take care to throw away packaging, string etc. as soon as you remove it. See ‘clear and clean as you go’ in the cleaning section below.	Keeping surfaces clear and clean will help prevent chemicals and objects getting into food, as well as preventing the spread of bacteria.
Repair or replace any equipment or utensils that are damaged or have loose parts.	Loose parts may get into food by accident.
It is a good idea to have a rule of no unnecessary glass in the kitchen.	This helps to prevent broken glass getting into food.

Pest control 

Types of pest:

• Rats and mice;
• Flies and flying insects;
• Cockroaches;
• Ants;
• Birds;
• Beetles and weevils.

Caption: Pest control

What to do	Why?
Check premises regularly for signs of pests	Pests carry harmful bacteria
Check deliveries thoroughly for signs of pests. Do not accept a delivery if it shows signs of pests such as gnawed packaging or insects, e.g., beetles	Pests could come into the premises in a delivery.
Keep external areas tidy and free from weeds. Make sure bins have close-fitting lids and are easy to clean and clean and disinfect regularly.	Weeds and rubbish can attract pests and provide them with food and shelter.
Make sure no food or dirty plates etc. are left out at night.	These are a source of food for pests.

If you see signs of a pest infestation, tell a manager or the registered manager immediately:

• If you think any equipment, surfaces or utensils have been touched by pests, they should be washed, disinfected and dried to stop harmful bacteria from spreading;
• If you think food has been touched by pests in any way, throw it away.

Maintenance 

Caption: Maintenance

What to do	Why?
All surfaces in the kitchen should be smooth and easy to clean.	Dirt and harmful bacteria can collect in any areas that are not smooth.
Structural damage should be repaired as soon as it happens, e.g., damp/chipped plaster, broken tiles, holes in walls or windows.	Structural damage can make premises harder to clean. It can attract pests and dirt and allows harmful bacteria to collect there.
Check extractor fans and filters regularly to make sure they are working properly and are free from grease and dirt.	This is to make sure the fans and filters can do their job properly.
Replace chopping boards that are scratched, pitted or scored.	Dirt and harmful bacteria can collect in any areas where the board is not smooth.
Repair or replace any equipment or utensils that are damaged or have loose parts.	Dirt and harmful bacteria can collect in damaged equipment/utensils. Loose parts may fall into food.
Throw away any cracked or chipped dishes and other tableware.	Dirt and harmful bacteria can collect in damaged equipment/utensils. Loose parts may fall into food.
Make sure your cooking, hot holding and chilling equipment is well maintained and working properly.	If it does not work properly, food may not be kept safe.
Temperature probes should be checked regularly to make sure their readings are accurate.	If your probe is not accurate, then it will not give a reliable measure of whether food is at a safe temperature.

If you think that equipment might not be working properly, report it to a manager or the registered manager straight away. Do not wait until it has broken down.

Effective cleaning is essential to get rid of harmful bacteria, viruses and allergens to stop them spreading to food. Cleaning is also important to discourage pest activity.

Cleaning should be carried out in line with the cleaning schedule/rota.

All cleaning and disinfection needs to be carried out in two stages:

1. Clean: Using either hot, soapy water or a cleaning product (such as a sanitiser), remove visible dirt, grease and debris from surfaces/ equipment and wipe off or rinse;
2. Disinfect: Following the manufacturer’s instructions, apply a disinfectant (such as a sanitiser) all over the surfaces/equipment and leave on for the required contact time.

It is important to complete this process in the correct order as chemical disinfectants only work if surfaces have been thoroughly cleaned first to remove grease and other dirt.

When you are cleaning, remember to move food out of the way or cover it and to change your protective clothing. This is to prevent dirt, bacteria or cleaning chemicals from getting onto food.

Try to allow surfaces to dry naturally. Drying naturally helps prevent bacteria being spread back onto surfaces from any towel/cloth used for drying.

When cleaning up after accidents (e.g., vomiting or diarrhoea) make sure you wash and disinfect the area thoroughly.

Clean and clear as you go

Caption: Clean and clear as you go

What to do	Why?
It is a good idea to take off outer packaging from food before you bring food into the kitchen or storeroom.	Outer packaging could have touched dirty floors etc., when it has been stored or transported before.
Take extra care with how you throw away packaging and food waste from raw food. If packaging from raw food touches work surfaces, make sure you wash and then disinfect them afterwards.	Packaging and food waste from these foods are more likely to spread harmful bacteria and allergens to food and surfaces.
Keep the kitchen free from clutter and rubbish. Clear away dirty kitchen equipment as soon as possible.	Work surfaces are easier to keep clean when they are not cluttered. It is also important to clear away used equipment to prevent bacteria and allergens spreading from it to surfaces or food.
Keep sinks clear and clean them regularly. Use a strainer over the plughole to stop food going down the sink.	This stops dirt building up and helps prevent bacteria and allergens from spreading. Using a strainer will help stop food from blocking sinks, pipes and drains.
Wash or wipe away spills as soon as they happen. If the spill is from raw food, clean and then disinfect the surface.	This stops dirt building up and helps prevent bacteria and allergens from spreading.
Wash work surfaces thoroughly between tasks. Use a new cloth (or one that has been washed and disinfected) to clean work surfaces before preparing ready-to-eat food.	This will help prevent dirt and bacteria and allergens spreading onto other foods from the surface. A dirty cloth could spread bacteria and allergens to the surface.
Scrape food waste into the bin before washing. Ideally, use a separate bin just for food waste.	This will help prevent food blocking pipes and drains.
Food waste should be stored in a specific place, away from food preparation, before it is collected. This area should be cleaned and disinfected regularly.	Open lids and drainage holes on external bins can allow pest access.

If you find that work surfaces or equipment are not properly clean, wash, disinfect and dry them before using them to prepare food.

If you find any packaging or waste lying around, throw it away immediately and clean and then disinfect the work surface thoroughly.

Cleaning different areas and items

Caption: Cleaning different areas and items

What to do	Why?
Thoroughly clean and disinfect surfaces and equipment after use for raw food, and before preparing ready-to eat foods.	This will help prevent harmful bacteria spreading from raw food on to ready-to-eat food.
Regularly wash/wipe and disinfect all the items people touch frequently, such as work surfaces, sinks, taps, door handles, switches, can openers, telephones and scales.	This will help prevent dirt and bacteria from being spread to people’s hands and then to food or other areas.
Clean and disinfect fridges regularly at a time when they do not contain much food. Transfer food to another fridge or a safe cold area and keep it covered.	To clean a fridge thoroughly, you should take out all the food and keep it cold somewhere else. If food is left out at room temperature, bacteria could grow.
Ideally use a dishwasher. Do not overload the dishwasher and make sure it is maintained and serviced regularly.	Dishwashers wash items thoroughly at a high temperature, so this is a good way to clean equipment and kill bacteria (disinfect) and remove allergens. If you overload the dishwasher, it may not wash effectively.
If you do not have a dishwasher, wash plates, equipment, etc., in hot soapy water using bactericidal detergent. Ideally, separate sinks should be used for washing up equipment used for raw foods and equipment used for ready-to-eat foods. If you must use the same sink, the water must be changed, and the sink (including all taps/fittings) must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected using a two stage clean between uses.	Cleaning and disinfecting are important to prevent bacteria spreading from raw to ready-to-eat food.
Items that do not touch food are not as high a priority, but they should still be cleaned effectively. Examples include dry storage areas and floors. Take care when cleaning floors so other surfaces are not contaminated by splashing.	This prevents dirt and bacteria building up in the kitchen. It also removes any food which has fallen on the floor, which can attract pests e.g., mice and cockroaches.

Chilling food properly helps to stop harmful bacteria from growing.

Some foods must be kept chilled to keep them safe, such as sandwiches, cooked meat and fish, cooked rice and pasta, cream-based desserts, food with a ‘use-by’ date and food that says ‘keep refrigerated’ on the label.

Use-by dates

Make sure you use food before its ‘use by’ date.

For dishes you have prepared or cooked, use stickers, or another method of labelling, to keep track of when food should be used or thrown away.

For guidance on how long to keep food, follow storage instructions on the product label.

High risk ready to eat foods should be kept for a maximum of 3 days in total (day of cook/ opening + 2) unless you have evidence that it is safe to keep them for longer.

Fridge temperatures

Fridges should be set at 5°C or below.

Some foods require storage at temperatures lower than 8°C to keep them safe so always follow the manufacturer’s storage guidance.

The temperature of fridges should be checked at least once a day.

Make sure you know how long food has been out of the fridge. Food which has been out for less than four hours can be put back in the fridge and kept at 8°C or below until it is used. If it has been out for more than four hours, it must be thrown away.

Cooling down hot food

Hot food that is not being eaten straight away must be chilled down as quickly as possible. Harmful bacteria can grow in food that is left to cool down slowly.

Hot food should not be placed into the fridge until it has cooled. This is because it would raise the internal temperature of the fridge.

Some ways to cool down food quickly:

• Divide into smaller portions;
• Cover pans of hot food and move them to a colder area, e.g., a storage room, or put them in cold water;
• Stir food regularly while it is cooling down;
• Spread food out on a tray.

Once the food has been cooled it can then be refrigerated.

Freezing

Put frozen food in the freezer as soon as it is delivered.

If you are freezing fresh food, freeze it as soon as it has been delivered or prepared.

Freeze hot food as soon as it has been properly chilled down.

Divide food into smaller portions and put it in containers or freezer bags before freezing. Smaller portions will freeze and defrost quicker.

Once the food is defrosted its shelf life depends on the number of days left until expiry on the date that it was first frozen.

Defrosting

Harmful bacteria can grow in food that is not properly defrosted.

Unless the product instructions say otherwise, food should be thoroughly defrosted before cooking.

Keep meat/poultry separate from other food when it is defrosting, to prevent cross-contamination. Once food has been defrosted you should use it immediately (within one day)

Ideally, food should be defrosted in the fridge. This takes time, so good planning is important.

If food cannot be defrosted in the fridge, the next best option is to defrost it in running 'cold' water'. However, this method should never be used for raw meat and poultry unless they are in a sealed container. Sinks should be cleaned before and after defrosting this way.

It may also be possible to use a ‘defrost’ setting of a microwave.

Defrosting at room temperature should always be a last resort as it carries the most risk. Food defrosted this way must only be left out as long as it needs to be.

Once food has been defrosted you should use it immediately (within one day)

Broken freezer

If you find that the freezer is not working properly, you should do the following things:

Food that is still frozen (i.e., hard and icy) should be moved to an alternative freezer straight away. If there is no alternative freezer, defrost food as above.

Food that has begun to defrost (i.e., starting to get soft and/or with liquid coming out of it) should be moved to a suitable place to continue defrosting.

Fully defrosted food (i.e., soft and warm) should be cooked, if appropriate (e.g., raw meat and poultry), until it is piping hot all the way through. After cooking, use the food immediately or chill or freeze it safely straight away. If this is not possible, throw it away.

Food that must be kept frozen (e.g., ice cream) cannot be re-frozen once it has started to defrost. You will have to use it immediately or throw it away.

Food that does not need cooking includes salads, bread for sandwiches, desserts, cooked meats, cheese etc.

Never use food past it’s use - by date.

Store in line with product instructions. These could be different once the food has been opened.

For guidance on how long to keep food once opened, follow manufacturer’s storage instructions on the original product label. High risk ready-to-eat foods should be kept for a maximum of 3 days in total (day of cook/opening + 2) unless you have evidence that it is safe to keep them for longer.

If original packaging gets thrown away, use stickers or another method to keep track of when food should be used by or disposed of.

Fruit, salad and vegetables to be eaten raw must be washed in clean water.

When cooking food, it is essential to cook it properly to kill any harmful bacteria. If it is not cooked properly, it might not be safe for residents to eat.

Before cooking food, make sure that it is safe to use (e.g., still in date), that the food preparation area and any equipment is clean (see above), that you have washed your hands and that you are using the right equipment for the type of food you are working with e.g., raw meat.

Making sure food is properly cooked

Food should be cooked in line with the product instructions or recipe being followed.

Ovens and grills should be preheated to ensure they are the correct temperature.

Checks

Caption: Checks

Check whole birds are cooked to a safe temperature in the thickest part of the leg. The meat should not be pink or red and the juices should be clear.

Check whole cuts of pork and processed meat products, such as sausages and burgers, are cooked to a safe temperature in the centre with no pink or red.

If you serve beef or lamb rare (whole cuts such as steaks and whole joints only), make sure all of the outside surfaces are fully cooked, e.g. by sealing in a pan.

The largest piece of meat in stews, curries etc. should be cooked to a safe temperature in the centre with no pink or red.

Check combination dishes (e.g., that contain meat and vegetables) are cooked to a safe temperature in the centre. If you are cooking a large dish or batch, check in several places.

Stir liquid dishes regularly and check they bubble rapidly and are heated to a safe temperature in several places before serving.

Check fish is cooked to a safe temperature in the centre and the colour and texture has changed. Some fish (e.g., tuna) may be served ‘rare’ as long as they have been correctly frozen beforehand to kill any parasites which may be present and are fully seared on the outside to kill any harmful bacteria that may be present.

If the food is not ready, cook it for longer.

Dangers of over-cooking

Acrylamide is a chemical that is formed naturally when some foods are cooked at high temperatures (above 120⁰C) such as by frying, roasting, baking, grilling and toasting. It has the potential to cause cancer.

It is therefore important not to over-cook foods that can be high in acrylamide:

• Raw potato products e.g., chips;
• Bread products e.g., bread, toast;
• Sweet bakery products e.g., cakes, biscuits;
• Savoury bakery products e.g., crackers, breadsticks.

You should dispose of any of these foods that are overcooked.

Reheating

It is very important to reheat food properly to kill harmful bacteria that may have grown since the food was cooked.

• Preheat equipment such as ovens and grills before reheating;
• If you are reheating food in a microwave, follow the product manufacturer’s instructions, including advice on standing and stirring;
• If you use a microwave to reheat food that you have cooked yourself, it is a good idea to stir it at stages while reheating;
• Serve reheated food immediately.

Some foods need to be treated with extra care to make sure they are safe to eat.

Eggs

Eggs can contain harmful bacteria.

Cook eggs and foods containing eggs thoroughly until they are steaming hot.

If serving eggs or egg dishes lightly cooked (e.g., soft boiled or in fresh mayonnaise or mousse), either use pasteurised egg, or British Lion code or equivalent assurance scheme eggs.

Make sure you rotate stock and use the oldest eggs first.

Use eggs within the ’best before’ date.

You can freeze eggs for use later if required.

Buy eggs from a reputable supplier.

Store eggs in a cool, dry place.

Rice

Rice can contain spores of a type of harmful bacteria that may not be killed by cooking or reheating.

When you have cooked rice, make sure you keep it hot until serving or chill it down as quickly as possible and then keep it in the fridge.

You can make rice cool down more quickly by dividing it into smaller portions, spreading it out on a clean tray, or running it under cold water (make sure the water is clean and drinking quality).

Dried pulses

Dried pulses can contain natural toxins that could make people ill unless they are destroyed by the proper method of soaking and cooking.

Follow the instructions on the packaging on how to soak and cook dried pulses.

Fish

Certain types of fish, such as mackerel, tuna, anchovies and herrings, can cause food poisoning if not kept at the correct temperature.

Make sure you buy fish from a reputable supplier.

If you buy fresh fish, make sure you store it between 0°C and 4°C. If you buy frozen fish then keep it frozen until you are ready to use it.

Shellfish

Make sure you buy shellfish from a reputable supplier. Keep the product label for 60 days, after opening.

If you do not use a reputable supplier, you cannot be confident that shellfish have been caught and handled safely.

It is a legal requirement to keep labels for 60 days to trace suppliers, if needed.

Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for preparation and storage of shellfish.

Crabs, crayfish, lobster and scallops should be prepared by someone with specialist knowledge. Some parts of these shellfish cannot be eaten, and some are poisonous, so it is important to know how to remove these parts safely.

Crustaceans and molluscs such as prawns and scallops will change in colour and texture when they are cooked. For example, prawns turn from blue-grey to pink and scallops become milky white and firm.

Before cooking mussels and clams, throw away any with open or damaged shells. To check that a mussel or clam is cooked, make sure the shell is open and that the mussel or clam has shrunk inside the shell. If the shell has not opened during cooking, throw it away.

Gift food is food that has been bought in by families or donated by e.g., a supermarket.

Staff may need to give advice to family members wanting to gift food to make sure that they have regard for food safety and do not put their loved ones at risk.

Gift food needs to be checked to make sure it is in-date and undamaged. Frozen food that has defrosted during transportation should be thrown away.

If you cannot be confident that the organisation donating food handles it safely, it is safest not to accept donations of food from that organisation, or to only accept low risk food, such as:

• Foods with a ‘best before’ date e.g., tins or biscuits;
• Other foods that do not need to be chilled e.g., fruit and vegetables.

Mini-kitchens are food and drink preparation areas that can be used by residents and visitors. They should not be used to prepare and cook main meals, but can be used to prepare light meals, snacks and drinks.

Visitors and residents do not have to abide by food safety requirements in the same way, although they should be encouraged to do so. For example, through signage about washing hands and the provision of liquid soap and disposable towels.

If you find that work surfaces or equipment in a mini-kitchen are not clean, then wash, disinfect and dry them before using them to prepare food.

Staff should ask and encourage visitors to wash their hands thoroughly before helping with meals.

Visitors should not be allowed in the main kitchen.

Laundry

Ideally, laundry facilities should be separate from the kitchen.

If there are not separate facilities, do not allow dirty laundry to be brought into the kitchen while food is being prepared.

Do not put dirty laundry or laundry baskets on work surfaces.

Medicines

Ideally, medicines that need to be refrigerated should be stored separately from food.

Food safety and hygiene risk assessment

As part of health and safety risk assessment, there should be separate risk assessment for general food safety risks, and specific risks to/from particular residents.

See: Assessing and Monitoring Health and Safety Risk

Fit for work

If staff are not ‘fit for work’, move them out of food handling areas or send them home. Throw away any unwrapped foods they have handled.

Upon their return, consider any need for further training to prevent another incident.

Food borne viruses

Suspected outbreaks of food related illness must be reported to the Public Health Protection Team.

See: Find your local health protection team in England

Cleaning schedules

The service should have a cleaning schedule in place to ensure that things are cleaned routinely and effectively.

If there is a mini-kitchen, the cleaning schedule should also cover this area.

If you need it, the Food Standards Agency has a template that can be used for this purpose.

See: Cleaning schedule

Training

All staff handling food must have undertaken appropriate food safety training. This should be refreshed regularly.

Quality assurance and monitoring

The registered manager should carry out quality assurance checks to make sure that the cleaning schedule is being carried out, and that food is being prepared, stored and cooked safely.

This should involve stock checks and watching staff at work and asking them how and why they are doing things the way they are, to test their competency in food safety.

The Food Standards Agency safety methods guidance includes tools to support quality chefcks and monitoring:

Safer Food Better Business for Caterers

Safer Food Better Business for Residential Care Homes Supplement

Effective handwashing is an essential part of food safety and hygiene.

Hands must always be washed:

1. Before touching or handling any food;
2. After touching raw meat, poultry, fish, eggs, unwashed vegetables and any packaging used for raw foods;
3. After going to the toilet;
4. After touching or emptying bins;
5. After any cleaning;
6. After touching a cut or changing a dressing;
7. After touching your hair, face, blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing;
8. Before helping people with their meals/drink;
9. After helping people to use the toilet, bathe etc.;
10. After emptying bed pans or commodes;
11. After using medical equipment;
12. Before and after handling medication;
13. After touching dirty linen and clothing;
14. After handling animals or their feeding bowls.

To wash hands effectively, see below.

Source: Food Standards Agency

If you think another member of staff has not washed their hands, emphasise how important it is to wash their hands when working with food. If they do not wash them straight away tell a manager or the registered person.

Disposable gloves

If the service uses disposable gloves for food preparation, this is not an alternative to effective handwashing. Hands should be washed before using gloves and afterwards. Gloves should be disposed of after use and if damaged. Gloves should be changed regularly, especially after handling raw food.

Hand gels and waterless soaps

Hygienic hand rubs and gels can be useful when used as an additional precaution but should never be used as a replacement for effective handwashing.

It is good practice to keep hair tied back and wear a hat when preparing food.

It is good practice to remove watches or jewellery when preparing food (except a plain wedding band).

You should not smoke, drink, eat or chew gum while handling food. 

You should avoid touching your face or nose, or coughing and sneezing over or near food, and wash your hands if you do.

Food should be stored in line with the storage instructions on the product packaging.

In a fridge, raw meat, poultry, fish and eggs should be stored below ready-to-eat food, unwashed fruit and vegetables.

Put frozen food in the freezer as soon as possible after purchase.

Left over hot food should be cooled before putting it into the fridge or freezer for later consumption (if safe to reheat).

If any items are out of date, or incorrectly stored, staff should not use them. They should seek the consent of the person to throw them away.

See: Consent

Open products do not need to be labelled on the date that they were opened, unless the person wants to do this. However, cooked foods and other raw and ready-to-eat food that has been opened should be covered using lids, foil or cling film.

If fridges or freezers in the person’s home are faulty, staff should report this to a manager or the registered person, who should explore support that the service can offer to repair or replace equipment.

Staff should clean food preparation areas before and after using them.

Staff should encourage or support the person to keep all their food preparation and storage areas clean. This includes fridges, work surfaces, chopping boards, sinks etc. It also includes bins.

When you are cleaning, remember to move food out of the way or cover it and to change your protective clothing. This is to prevent dirt, bacteria or cleaning chemicals from getting onto food.

Try to allow surfaces to dry naturally. Drying naturally helps prevent bacteria being spread back onto surfaces from any towel/cloth used for drying.

Cloths used on floors must not be used on other surfaces. Take care when cleaning floors so other surfaces are not contaminated by splashing.

Staff sleeping over should make sure no food or dirty plates etc. are left out at night.

If separate chopping boards are available for fresh and raw ingredients, use them.

Fruit, salad and vegetables should be washed in clean water.

Do not wash raw meat or poultry.

Remember to wash your hands after handling raw meat or its packaging.

Take extra care with how you throw away packaging and food waste from raw food. If packaging from raw food touches work surfaces, make sure you clean them.

Before cooking food, make sure that it is safe to use (e.g., still in date), that the food preparation area and any equipment is clean (see above) and that you have washed your hands.

Food should be cooked in line with the product instructions or recipe being followed.

Ovens and grills should be preheated to ensure they are the correct temperature.

Acrylamide is a chemical that is formed naturally when some foods are cooked at high temperatures (above 120⁰C) such as by frying, roasting, baking, grilling and toasting. It has the potential to cause cancer.

It is therefore important not to over-cook foods that can be high in acrylamide:

• Raw potato products e.g., chips;
• Bread products e.g., bread, toast;
• Sweet bakery products e.g., cakes, biscuits;
• Savoury bakery products e.g., crackers, breadsticks.

Staff should discourage people being supported from eating any of the above if they have been over-cooked.

Harmful bacteria can grow in food that is not properly defrosted. 

Unless the product instructions say otherwise, food should be thoroughly defrosted before cooking. 

Ideally, food should be defrosted in the fridge. This takes time, so good planning is important.

Keep meat/poultry separate from other food when it is defrosting, to prevent cross-contamination.

Once the food has been defrosted you should use it immediately (within one day).

Some foods need to be treated with extra care to make sure they are safe to eat.

Eggs

Eggs can contain harmful bacteria.

Cook eggs and foods containing eggs thoroughly until they are steaming hot.

If serving eggs or egg dishes lightly cooked (e.g., soft boiled or in fresh mayonnaise or mousse), try to use either pasteurised egg, or British Lion code or equivalent assurance scheme eggs.

Use eggs within the ’best before’ date. 

Store eggs in a cool, dry place.

Rice

Rice can contain spores of a type of harmful bacteria that may not be killed by cooking or reheating.

When you have cooked rice, make sure you keep it hot until serving or chill it down as quickly as possible and then keep it in the fridge. 

Dried pulses

Dried pulses can contain natural toxins that could make people ill unless they are destroyed by the proper method of soaking and cooking.

Follow the instructions on the packaging on how to soak and cook dried pulses.

Fish

Certain types of fish, such as mackerel, tuna, anchovies and herrings, can cause food poisoning if not kept at the correct temperature.

Fresh fish, should be stored between 0°C and 4°C. Frozen fish should be kept frozen until it is going to be used.

Shellfish

Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for preparation and storage of shellfish.

Crustaceans and molluscs such as prawns and scallops will change in colour and texture when they are cooked. For example, prawns turn from blue-grey to pink and scallops become milky white and firm.

Before cooking mussels and clams, throw away any with open or damaged shells. To check that a mussel or clam is cooked, make sure the shell is open and that the mussel or clam has shrunk inside the shell. If the shell has not opened during cooking, throw it away.

Do not put dirty laundry or laundry baskets on work surfaces.

Ideally, medicines that need to be refrigerated should be stored separately from food.

Food safety and hygiene risk assessment

As part of health and safety risk assessment, there should be separate risk assessment for general food safety risks, and specific risks to/from particular individuals.

See: Assessing and Monitoring Health and Safety Risk

Fit for work

If staff are not ‘fit for work’, do not allow them to handle food or send them home. With the person’s consent, throw away any unwrapped foods they have handled.

See: Consent

Upon their return, consider any need for further training to prevent another incident.

Training

All staff handling food must have undertaken appropriate food safety training. This should be refreshed regularly.

Quality assurance and monitoring

The registered person should carry out quality assurance checks to make sure that the staff team supporting the person are preparing, storing and cooking food safely.