Knowledge – Page 8 – From The Safer Food Group

May 29, 2020May 29, 2020

How does coronavirus (COVID-19) spread?

Like many pathogenic viruses, Coronavirus spreads person-to-person through airborne particles produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and when contaminated hands touch and thus contaminate other objects. Research suggests that Coronavirus can survive for up to several days on some of the most common materials and surfaces used in food premises:

Coronavirus can survive airborne for up to a few hours
Coronavirus can survive on cardboard packaging for around 24 hours
Coronavirus can survive on plastic packaging for up to 3 days
Coronavirus can survive on stainless steel for up to 7 days

May 13, 2020May 13, 2020

Let’s get your local community backing your food business

Now that many of you are finding ways of getting fresh cooked food to your customers and local community safely, it’s time to encourage them to your support you. Put up the poster below in your premises window and share it online as widely as you can to get the word out that our sector needs everyone to get behind it and support all food businesses to help them get through this very difficult time.

Share with other food business owners, friends and through any route you can think of to build the momentum needed for the general public to get all food business back on their feet.

We rely on you for our business so we will work as hard as we can to support your food business. If you need answers to anything or have an idea that could help your food business and others get in touch and we will do all we can to help.

May 13, 2020May 13, 2020

Missing your local food business? They’re missing you too!

Now that pubs, cafes and takeaways are finding ways of getting fresh cooked food to you safely, it’s time to show your support. Behind the scenes, a lot of these guys have been working hard to incorporate social distancing and safe payment methods, as well as perfecting their food hygiene practices. And now they need YOU – show some love to your local chippie, your independent Indian restaurant or your dedicated pizza delivery place and treat yourself to a takeaway tonight.

Don’t forget that your local pubs, restaurants and cafes are all now working toward or are now providing a takeaway service, they need your help now more than ever to keep them going.

March 10, 2020May 10, 2022

Do I need a food hygiene certificate?

There is no one simple answer to the question, ‘Do I need a Food Hygiene Certificate’ – but we can certainly help find the right answer for you.

If you are responsible for managing food safety in a business – for example, a supervisor, manager or business owner – you must be suitably trained to ensure you can put correct procedures in place and see they are carried out. You must also ensure that your team is appropriately trained in food hygiene and safety, including allergens.

If you are someone who works with food, you must be trained to a suitable level for your role, in food hygiene and safety, including allergens.

But – what is suitable or appropriate training?

The Food Standards Agency define training as:

training while working
self-study
relevant previous experience

So, technically, neither a supervisor nor their team requires a food hygiene certificate to operate safely and satisfactorily. However, it is worth bearing in mind that training is a key area that your EHO will look into, and it is very likely that any inspection will include a number of questions both to management and team members to satisfy the inspector that good food safety is understood and carried out. For that reason, it is good practice for all food handlers and managers to regularly undertake regulated food hygiene training and to renew on a regular basis.

For supervisors, managers, and anyone else who oversees activities and staff and is responsible for introducing and maintaining procedures and processes, it is important that training includes management level skills, for example creating and using a Food Safety Management system. In general in the UK these would be Level 3 courses – although it is always important to check the syllabus of any course you undertake, to ensure you cover all the important elements.

For food handlers – including chef, cooks, anyone in food prep and front of house staff – a Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate should cover day to day needs – although again, we would always recommend checking the syllabus of any course before you sign up. A Level 3 Certificate would be a good way to increase skills and knowledge and demonstrate readiness to take the next step into management

For anyone who doesn’t directly handle food, but an understanding of food safety is important, a Level 1 Food Hygiene Certificate can provide the basic level of training required. This training might be useful for someone making food deliveries, or a kitchen porter.

When does my food hygiene certificate expire?

For all regulated food training, we would recommend retaking the course every 3 years. As well as refreshing knowledge, this gives the learner insight into any new practice or legislation influencing food hygiene practice introduced since their previous training.

March 9, 2020June 5, 2020

Free – Food allergy sticker template – Egg

The third of a series of Free allergy warning stickers to help you to track the most dangerous of the 14 allergens we all need to track in our dishes and raw ingredients. Our third template “Contains Egg” just needs printing onto an A4 sticker sheet and then your staff and you will know exactly where these ingredients end up.

This downloadable document and its content remains the property of The Safer Food Group and any adaptation or changes are prohibited, you have the right to take copies and use this resource for your business or individual needs but in no way are permitted to adapt it as your own or to sell on this item for a profit. This document should be used alongside correct food preparation and hygiene procedure and does not negate your legal responsibilities with regard allergen communications and disclosure. The Safer Food Group take no responsibility for the misuse of this document or bad working practices undertaken by any business or individual using our free resources.

March 9, 2020June 5, 2020

Free – Food allergy sticker template – Gluten

The second of a series of Free allergy warning stickers to help you to track the most dangerous of the 14 allergens we all need to track in our dishes and raw ingredients. Our second template “Contains Gluten” just needs printing onto an A4 sticker sheet and then your staff and you will know exactly where these ingredients end up.

March 9, 2020June 5, 2020

Free – Food allergy sticker template – Peanuts

The first of a series of Free allergy warning stickers to help you to track the most dangerous of the 14 allergens we all need to track in our dishes and raw ingredients. Our first template “Contains Peanuts” just needs printing onto an A4 sticker sheet and then your staff and you will know exactly where these ingredients end up.

March 9, 2020July 29, 2022

Free – 14 Food allergens poster

The key to successful management of food allergens lies in good communications. Help your staff to recognise the 14 Food Allergens listed by the Food Standards agency by printing this free poster and putting up in your workplace. To use this poster as an online training resource within your company, use the link: https://bit.ly/3JhhJ17

Here’s a list of the 14 listed food allergens that must be declared when used as ingredients:

Nuts – These are tree nuts, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts etc.

Peanuts – These are classed as a ground nut and can cause death to those with severe peanut allergies

Celery / Celeriac – Both a common ingredient in soups and stock cubes

Gluten – Cereals contain gluten. Wheat, rye, barley and oats contain gluten and are commonly used in flour

Crustaceans – Includes crabs, lobster, prawns, shrimp and scampi

Eggs – Both fresh and powdered egg

Fish – Extracts of fish can be a hidden ingredient, for example in sauces

Milk – Dairy products such as butter, cheese, cream and yoghurt

Sesame – Sesame seeds. Sesame is also used to flavour oils

Soya – Used extensively in far eastern cuisine and vegetarian dishes

Sulphur dioxide – Also known as sulphites. Found in foods including dried fruit, soft drinks, cooked meat products, wine and beer

Mustard – Used extensively as a flavouring in processed foods

Molluscs – Includes mussels, whelks, cockles, land snails and squid

Lupin – A flour used in catering, produced from lupin plants

March 4, 2020November 22, 2021

Do volunteers need food safety training?

According to the Food Standards Agency advice on providing food at charity or community events, this depends on whether you provide food on an occasional and small scale basis – in which case you do not qualify as a food business – or on a regular and organised basis – in which case, you may need to register as a food business. In any case, food supplied at any event MUST comply with food law and be safe to eat.

If you are unsure which category you fall into, seek advice from your EHO (contactable via your local council). Don’t be afraid that this will lead to extra red tape – your EHO is there to help and advise you, and responsible planning at the outset may prevent a far more tricky situation if your food sales lead you into legal problems along the line. To give you examples – a scout group selling tea and homemade cake at an annual jumble sale is not likely to qualify as a food business, but a rugby club selling cooked bacon rolls and pies every Sunday morning probably will. The scout group should still make sure that their food and drink is fresh and kept safely, and that they have appropriate allergen information for their cakes – but they won’t need regular checks from an EHO.

All food businesses need to comply with all EU food hygiene law, including those related to food hygiene training and allergen awareness. This means that the person in charge of the event or the catering set up must ensure that anyone preparing or handling food receives ‘the appropriate supervision and training in food hygiene and food allergens, which is in-line with the area they work in and will enable them to handle food in the safest way’ (The Food Standards Agency). This can be ensured by taking accredited training – online courses are often the most cost and time effective route for volunteers, and reputable providers can advise on the correct level of training. It could also be achieved by on-the-job training and supervision by a suitable person on site. Or the volunteer themselves may already have sufficient skills and experience to allow them to undertake the role safely – the person in charge must be able to demonstrate that the skills of each volunteer have been considered and are appropriate for their role.

At the Safer Food Group, we support a number of youth organisations, sports clubs and charities with their food hygiene and allergen training requirements. Our flexible, value for money courses allow organisations to purchase courses on behalf of their volunteers, taking advantage of our bulk purchase prices and allowing learners to undertake the training at a time that fits with their busy schedules.