Running a safe, hygienic business is one of the biggest tests a restaurateur has to deal with. This chapter covers the restaurant’s food hygiene, staff handling of the food, adhering to strict hygiene standards and the premises themselves.

This chapter gives an outline of the Food Safety Act, the Food Premises Regulations, food hygiene training, temperature controls, and foods that need chilling and those that don’t. The various types of food poisoning are outlined, and there is also advice on staff hygiene, environmental health requirements and the visit by an inspector.

FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS

The Food Safety Act 1990

Under this Act you must not:

• Sell food (or keep for sale) anything that is unfit for people to eat.
• Cause food to be dangerous to health.
• Sell food that is not what the customer is entitled to expect, in terms of content or quality.
• Describe or present food in a way that is false or misleading.

Food Premises (Registration) Regulations 1991

Under this act you must:

• Register your business at least 28 days before opening a new food business.
• Contact your local authority for the appropriate (and very straightforward) form. There is no charge.

Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995

Food hygiene training:

• Regulations made under the Food Safety Act require that all persons who handle open food in the course of a food business receive food hygiene training.
• Short course levels are foundation, intermediate and advanced. Find out what courses are available from your local authority.

Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995

This covers:

• The temperature at which certain foods must be kept.
• Which foods are exempt from specific temperature control.
• When the regulations allow flexibility.

In Scotland the regulations are slightly different to the rest of the UK but the principles are the same. Contact your local authority.

FOOD STORAGE

Foods that need chilling

Foods that need chilling include:

• Milk, yoghurt, cream, butter, foods with cream filling, dairy-based desserts and certain cheeses.
• Many cooked products until ready to eat cold or heated. Most foods containing eggs, meat, fish, dairy products, cereals, rice, pulses or vegetables and sandwich fillings containing these ingredients.
• Most smoked or cured products like hams unless the curing method means the product is not perishable at room temperature.
• Prepared ready-to-eat meals including prepared vegetables, salad leaves, coleslaw and products containing mayonnaise.
• Pizzas with meat, fish or vegetables.
• Foods with ‘use by’ and ‘keep refrigerated’ labels.

Foods that don’t need chilling

These include:

• Some cured/smoked products.
• Bakery goods.
• Canned and dried foods like pickles, jams, sauces, though these do need chilling once opened.

Mail order food

Mail order food must not be transported at temperatures that could cause a health risk. Therefore food that needs chilling should be delivered by chilled compartment vehicle.

Fridge storage and temperature control

Meat storage at the base of the fridge is the rule to adhere to. A full guide can be obtained from your local authority. The fridge temperature should be between IC and 4C to stop bacteria from multiplying. Keep a thermometer in the fridge and record a diary of temperatures for health and safety inspection. Keep it on the door to remind staff to check the temperature levels.

FOOD POISONING AND AVOIDING CONTAMINATION

As a restaurateur you and your staff need to understand what causes food poisoning and how it can be avoided. It is vital that your restaurant is clean throughout. The kitchen is naturally the hot spot where cleanliness is of paramount importance. The food you serve must be absolutely safe and, by strict following of hygiene and cross contamination rules, this will be achieved.

There are four micro-organisms that are the most common causes of food poisoning which, of course, make for alarming reading. But they are preventable.

Campylobactor

This is the most common food poisoning bug in the UK. It is found in raw and undercooked poultry, red meat, unpasteurised milk and untreated water. Just a piece of undercooked chicken can cause severe illness.

Symptoms: gastroenteritis with fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea that is often bloody. Can be fatal.

Salmonella

The second most common food poisoning bug. It can be found in eggs, raw meat, poultry, unpasteurised milk, yeast and even pasta, coconut and chocolate. Salmonella grows very well in the food itself unless the food is chilled. It is also passed easily from person to person by poor hygiene such as not washing hands.

Symptoms: usually mild, with abdominal pain, diarrhoea and nausea but rarely vomiting.

Clostridium perfringens

The third most common bug and the least reported as symptoms are vague. Found in soil, sewage, animal manure and in the guts of animals and humans. Food cooked slowly in large quantities then left to stand for a long time is its breeding ground.

Symptoms: when taken in large numbers, the bacteria produce toxins which attack the gut lining, causing diarrhoea and acute abdominal pain.

Listeria

This is a food poisoning bug of particular danger to pregnant women, babies and the elderly. It is found in soft, mould-ripened cheeses, pates, unpasteurised milk and shellfish. Listeria resists heat, salt and nitrate and acidity better than many micro-organisms.

Symptoms: fever, headache, nausea and vomiting. Can be fatal to the elderly, immune impaired infants and developing foetuses.

Scrombotoxin

Although not strictly speaking a bug, this poison is produced by certain bacteria in oily fish which has been allowed to spoil through inadequate refrigeration. It causes a dramatic histamine reaction. Scrombotoxin is found in fresh and tinned mackerel, tuna and – very rarely – Swiss cheese.

Symptoms: tingling or burning in the mouth, a rash on the face or upper body, itching, sweating and headache with a drop in blood pressure, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting.

E.coli 0157

Most strains of E.coli are harmless but those producing the poison verocy-toxin can cause severe illness, E.coli 0157 being one. It is found in farm animals and land contaminated with their faeces, and transmitted through undercooked minced beef (such as burgers) and raw, inadequately or contaminated milk.

Symptoms: abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhoea. In serious cases kidney failure, severe anaemia, neurological problems and death.

In order to combat food poisoning obtain good clear advice from your local authority health inspector. All of the above are perfectly possible to prevent if you are aware of them and how they can be avoided. Poisonings by salmonella and campylobactor are, however, on the increase due to a lack of understanding by those handling food.

Preventing food poisoning

Lack of common sense also features in food poisoning. Leaving raw chicken out in a hot kitchen for four hours without covering it is asking for trouble. It should have been refrigerated, of course. Preparing a sandwich on a board which has just been used for cutting up raw duck breasts is another action to avoid. Keeping a bottle of milk on a hot window ledge throughout the day will surely result in mild discomfort or worse if drunk.

Heavy-duty plastic or polypropylene colour-coded boards must also be used in a commercial kitchen, and thoroughly scrubbed in hot, soapy water and rinsed after use to avoid cross-contamination and food poisoning. Or use an antibacterial spray with kitchen towel.

A well-publicised case of food poisoning by a caterer at a wedding who left the entire buffet laid out in a hot marquee for over four hours, while pictures of the happy couple were being taken, resulted in mass serious poisoning.

If space is at a premium in the fridges you may have to re-think your menu and your ordering if some items cannot be refrigerated for any length of time.

Eggs

Eggs have been under scrutiny for many years. Health and safety guidelines suggest that raw or semi-cooked eggs may pose a salmonella food poisoning problem. All recipes printed in newspapers, magazines and books carry a warning not to serve undercooked eggs to the elderly or women who are pregnant (see food poisoning list: listeria).

So out of the window may go some of the most wonderful egg dishes such as eggs Benedict, poached or lightly scrambled eggs and Hollandaise sauce. It is up to you whether to make this decision to serve eggs that aren’t thoroughly cooked.

You may wish to add a note on the menu saying that particular dishes contain lightly cooked or raw egg to inform your customers and safeguard your interests but it is seen over the top by some.

STAFF HYGIENE

Staff must always wash their hands with soap and clean towels after using the toilet. Hand washing must also take place to avoid cross contamination after handling raw poultry, for example. Even if kitchen staff nip out to the restaurant to check on a booking, for example, they must wash their hands before resuming work with food.

Staff must be introduced to other personal hygiene matters too: fingers touching the face, nose, ears, hair or other parts of the body while working is unacceptable as this can spread infection and micro-organisms. Wearing a hat is a sensible option too for kitchen staff.

Waiting staff too must wash their hands before starting work and abide by the personal hygiene rules as mentioned above. There is no easy solution for management to discern whether or not their staff wash their hands after visiting the toilet. However, a reminder of this essential step is one way of getting the message across.

I am constantly amazed by my own observations in queuing for loos in public places how few people actually wash their hands before going out of the door. This essential step should be practised whether or not the person is in the catering industry.

Cloths

Dishcloths and other cloths in the kitchen are one of the prime suspects in spreading germs. Use non-woven dishcloths rather than sponges as there are fewer traps for germs. Sponges also hold more water where bacteria can thrive.

Don’t even think of using a cloth which is used on a counter to mop up the floor then used again for surface tops. Disinfect cloths in bleach regularly and dry flat, not scrunched up. Be a devil and throw them away after quite extensive use!

Change tea towels and hand towels often.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Have you talked to environmental health officers about required standards for running a restaurant? This should be done when you are looking at premises to get a clear picture of the requirements. Some properties may not be at all suitable or be able to be changed to fit the required standards. Contact your local authority for advice.

Environmental health requirements

Restaurant kitchens take a physical hammering, and the effort needed to promote the best standards of hygiene, cleanliness, stock care and food rotation is a constant one. Take your eye off the ball – and your staff – and you could land up with a big problem with food poisoning. Witness Gordon Ramsay’s television programme Kitchen Nightmares to see how poorly run some restaurant kitchens can be due either to laziness or lack of knowledge.

The role of the environmental health officer

The policing of standards is down to environmental health officers from local councils who enforce the law and, although the perception by some in the trade is one of draconian laws and over-the-top requirements, the system can’t be bucked. Some of the requests are legally binding, others aren’t. But their advice can be invaluable, particularly for those starting up in the business or those whose standards have slipped.

EHOs can, by law, turn up unannounced at all reasonable hours and proceed to inspect your restaurant kitchen, toilets, storage space, the restaurant itself and your rubbish area. They may also visit due to a complaint.

Some of the many items they will inspect are lids and labels on containers, the use of the right chopping boards, fridge and freezer temperatures. They will take a keen interest in the suitability and cleanliness of tiles, floor, walls and ceilings, storage, hand basins for staff, how raw and cooked meat are stored in the fridge, air circulation and vermin problems.

There are EHO horror stories: stoves with no knobs on, meaning staff turning the gas on with pliers, dirty stale oil left in fryers and filthy fridges with no labelling on containers. They have also discovered babies’ soiled nappies left in the kitchen, mould and mice droppings behind equipment, fire doors propped open with unsealed rubbish, and cleaning fluids transferred to lemonade bottles.

EHO inspection

This is what you can expect when your business is inspected.

Inspection:

• The inspector will show identification.
• A routine inspection will be carried out.
• Some premises can be inspected every six months, others much less often.
• Feedback will be given such as information about identified hazards and guidance on how they can be avoided.
• You will be given the reasons in writing for any action you are asked to take.
• Where there is an apparent breach of law, you will receive a statement of what that law is.
• A reasonable time to meet statutory requirements is given except when there is an immediate risk to public health.
• You are entitled to be informed of the procedures for appealing against local authority action.

Inspectors’ powers:

• They can take samples, photographs and inspect records.
• They may write informally to put right any problems they find.
• Where breaches of the law are identified which must be put right they may serve you with an improvement order.
• They can detain or seize goods.
• In serious cases they may decide to recommend a prosecution.
• If there is an imminent health risk to consumers, inspectors can serve an emergency prohibition order backed up by the court which forbids the use of the premises or equipment.

If you disagree with the outcome contact your local authority’s head of environmental health or trading standards services to see if the matter can be resolved informally. If disagreement remains contact your local councillor.

Contact your local authority or trade association if you think the law is being applied differently to other authorities. Ask about LACOTS (Local Authorities Co-ordinating Body on Food and Trading Standards).

You have the right of appeal to a magistrates’ court against an improvement notice or a refusal by a local authority to lift an emergency prohibition order made earlier by the court. A magistrates’ court must confirm the emergency closure of a business or the seizure of food. If magistrates decide premises have been shut down without proper reason or food has been wrongly seized or detained, you have a right to compensation.

Other considerations:

• The past history of the offence.
• The seriousness of the offence.
• The inspectors’ confidence in the restaurant’s management.
• The consequences of non-compliance.
• The attitude of the operator/proprietor.