Maintain food safety in a hospitality environment

This standard reflects current food safety guidance in the UK and integrates the key themes of cleaning and preventing contamination. It provides staff with the knowledge and skills of reviewing hazards and using hazard based procedures to maintain food safety in their department.
Separate standards are available for those who cook and prepare food, and for managers and supervisors who have wider responsibilities for food safety in a catering operation.

When you have completed this standard you will have demonstrated your understanding of and your ability to:

• Maintain food safety in a hospitality environment

1. Comply with relevant legal and organisational requirements for personal hygiene and behaviour
2. Ensure surfaces and equipment are clean and in good condition
3. Use clean and suitable cloths and equipment for wiping and cleaning between tasks
4. Remove from use any surfaces and equipment that are damaged or have loose parts and report them to the person responsible
5. Dispose of waste promptly, hygienically and appropriately
6. Identify, take appropriate action on and report to the appropriate person any damage to walls, floors, ceilings, furniture and fittings
7. Identify, take appropriate action on and report to the appropriate person any signs of pests
8. Keep necessary records accurate and up-to-date

1. The types of contamination and cross-contamination of food and surfaces, how they can occur and the vehicles of contamination including surfaces
2. The types of food poisoning, how food poisoning organisms can contaminate food, the factors which enable the growth of food poisoning organisms and the common symptoms of food poisoning
3. How personal hygiene and behaviour affect the safety of food
4. Your role in spotting and dealing with hazards, and in reducing the risk of contamination
5. The importance of identifying food hazards promptly and the potential impact on health if hazards are not spotted and dealt with  promptly
6. The importance of risk assessments
7. Types of unsafe behaviour that may impact on the safety of food and why it is important to avoid this type of behaviour when working with food
8. The relevant legal and regulatory requirements for food safety, the importance of complying with them, the implications of non-compliance and the role of enforcement officers
9. The importance of, and methods for, separation of raw and cooked foods, separation of finished dishes
10. The temperature danger zone, why food needs to be kept at specified temperatures and how to ensure this
11. What procedures to follow when dealing with stock including deliveries, storage, date marking and stock rotation, and why it is important to consistently follow them
12. Why it is important to keep work areas and environment clean and tidy, and tools, utensils and equipment in good order, clean condition and stored correctly
13. How the methods and frequency of cleaning and maintenance of equipment, surfaces and environment affect food safety in the workplace
14. The actions that should be taken in response to spotting a potential hazard, including the correct person to whom issues should be reported
15. The types of food waste which can occur in the workplace and how it should be safely handled in the workplace 
16. The main types of pests that you may find in catering operations, how to identify the signs that they are there, pests and infestation that may pose a risk to the safety of  food, how they can occur, how to recognise them and how to prevent them
17. Why surfaces and equipment must be clean before beginning a new task and how to do so
18. Why it is important only to use clean and suitable cloths and equipment when cleaning between tasks and how to do so
19. Why surfaces and equipment that are damaged or have loose parts can be  dangerous to food safety and the types of damaged surfaces and equipment that can cause food safety  hazards and what to do about them
20. Why it is important to clear and dispose of waste promptly and safely and how to do so
21. How damage to walls, floors, ceilings, furniture and fittings can cause food safety hazards and the type of damage you should look for

1 Hazards / Sources of contamination
1.1 microbial
1.2 chemical
1.3 physical
1.4 allergenic 2 Vehicles of contamination
2.1 hands
2.2 cloths and equipment
2.3 hand contact surfaces
2.4 food contact surfaces
2.5 contamination routes 3 Personal hygiene and behaviour
3.1 wearing protective clothing and headgear
3.2 keeping direct handling of food to a minimum

3.3 following recommended procedures for washing

hands, including when to wash your hands (after going to the toilet, when going into food preparation, cooking and service areas, after touching raw food and waste, and before serving food)

> 3.4 reporting cuts, boils, grazes and injuries3.5 treating and covering cuts, boils, skin infections>

and grazes

> 3.6 reporting illnesses and infections, particularly>

stomach illnesses, before entering the food preparation, cooking and service areas

> 3.7 having clean hair, skin, nails and clothing3.8 wearing jewellery only in line with organisational>

procedures

> 3.9 recording incidents3.10 avoid behaviours including: touching face, nose>

or mouth; chewing gum; eating; smoking – when you are working with food

> 4 Surfaces and equipment4.1 surfaces and utensils used in the department4.2 appropriate cleaning equipment