Important Information for Business Owners - Kitchen Hygiene
From 1 January 2006, a number of new food hygiene regulations apply in the UK.
The regulations that are most important for your business are:
Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs
The Food Hygiene Regulations 2005 (Northern Ireland)
The layout, design, construction, site and size of your premises must:
• allow adequate maintenance, cleaning and/or disinfection
• avoid or minimise air-borne contamination (i.e. contamination carried in the air)
• provide enough working space for you to carry out all tasks hygienically
• protect against the build-up of dirt, contact with toxic materials, shedding of particles into food and forming of condensation or mould on surfaces
• allow good food hygiene practices, including protection against contamination and, in particular, pest control
• provide, where necessary, suitable conditions for handling and storing food while keeping it at appropriate temperatures, designed to allow those temperatures to be monitored and, where necessary, recorded
Handwashing facilities and toilets
• You must have an adequate number of washbasins, suitably located and used only for cleaning hands.
• Washbasins for cleaning hands must have hot and cold running water, and materials for cleaning hands and for hygienic drying.
• Where necessary, you should have a separate sink for washing food.
Insect Screens
• Windows opening directly into food preparation areas must be fitted with screens capable of resisting common flying insects
• Screens must be removable to allow for cleaning
• Kitchen doors which open to the outside air and which are opened for lengthy periods must also be suitably screened using a close-fitting insect-proof screen door
Electronic Fly-Killing Devices
• Flying insects can be destroyed using an electronic fly-killing device. Manufacturers will give advice on the location, cleaning and maintenance of this type of equipment.
Waste Management
• You must put food waste and other rubbish in containers that can be closed, unless you can satisfy your local authority that other types of containers or systems of disposing of waste are appropriate. These containers must be of appropriate
construction, kept in sound condition, be easy to clean and, where necessary, to disinfect.
• You must have adequate facilities for storing and disposing of food waste and other rubbish. Stores for waste must be designed and managed in a way that enables them to be kept clean and, where necessary, free of animals and pests.
• You must get rid of all waste in a hygienic and environmentally friendly way, in accordance with EC legislation. (There are rules about the way certain types of food waste must be collected and disposed of – contact your local authority for details.)
• The waste must not be a direct or indirect source of contamination (e.g. touching surfaces that food is prepared on, or attracting pests).