Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006
The Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006
are supported by European Regulation 852/2004.
Who is affected?
Anyone who owns, manages or works in a food
business, apart from those working in primary food production such
as harvesting, slaughtering or milking, is affected by these
Regulations. They apply to anything from a hot dog van to a five
star restaurant, from a village hall where food is prepared to a
large supermarket, or to a vending machine.
This is true whether you sell publicly or
privately, in a hotel or in a marquee, for profit or for
fundraising. The Regulations do not apply to food cooked at home
for private consumption. Every process which deals with preparing
or selling food can be classed as a food business activity,
including:-
Preparation; Handling; Processing; Packaging;
Manufacturing; Storage; Transportation; Selling; Distribution;
Supplying.
Generally, anyone who handles food, or whose
actions could affect its safety, must follow the Regulations. This
includes people who sell food (whether to retailers or to the
public) and anyone who cleans articles or equipment which come into
contact with food.
The Regulations apply to all types of food and
drink and their ingredients. But some businesses, generally
manufacturers of products of animal origin such as dairies or
wholesale fish markets, follow their own product specific
regulations
Identifying and controlling food hazards
As the proprietor of a food business, you
must:-
- make sure food is supplied or sold in a hygienic
way;
- identify food safety hazards;
- know which steps in your activities are critical
for food safety;
- ensure safety controls are in place, maintained
and reviewed.
The majority of food businesses will require to
have a documented food safety management system in place. For
catering businesses the 'Safer Food Better Business' pack,
published by the Food Standards Agency, which is available in a
number of languages, may be ideal. Further information can be
obtained by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.
The Regulations aim to set out basic hygiene
principles and focus on how to identify and control food safety
risks at each stage of the process of preparing and selling
food.
Rather than simply following a list of rules,
the Regulations let you assess the risk to food safety and then
apply controls relevant to your own situation. Not all the
requirements for the structure and equipment of food premises will
apply to you. Some are followed by the words "where appropriate" or
"where necessary". For example, one provision states that, "where
appropriate" floors must allow surface drainage. But where you have
a system to ensure water does not build up, so that there is no
risk to food safety, actual floor drains may not be necessary. So
there is no absolute requirement to have them.
Food premises should:-
- be clean and maintained in good repair;
- be designed and constructed to permit good
hygiene practices;
- have an adequate supply of potable (drinking)
water;
- have suitable controls in place to protect
against pests;
- have adequate natural and/or artificial
lighting;
- have sufficient natural and/or mechanical
ventilation;
- provide clean lavatories which do not lead
directly into food rooms;
- have adequate hand washing facilities;
- be provided with adequate drainage.
Rooms where food is prepared, treated or
processed should generally have surface finishes which are easy to
clean, and where necessary, disinfect. This would, for instance,
apply to wall, floor and equipment finishes. The rooms should also
have:
- adequate facilities for washing food and
equipment;
- adequate facilities for the storage and removal
of food waste.
Of course, many of the Regulations are basic
minimum hygiene standards which apply to every food business. But
how they are applied still depends on the situation. For example,
every food premises must be kept clean. But how they are cleaned,
and how often, will be different for a manufacturer of ready-to-eat
meals than for a bakery selling bread.
Do not buy or supply any raw materials if you
think that even after sorting or processing they could make food
unfit for human consumption. Any material which you suspect or know
to be infected or contaminated with parasites or foreign substances
to this extent should be rejected.
There must be an adequate supply of potable
(drinking) water, to be used whenever necessary to ensure food is
not contaminated. In the vast majority of cases, this is supplied
via the public water supply. But if there is any doubt about the
quality of a water supply, you should seek advice from your local
council Environmental Health Services.
Anyone who works in a food handling area must
maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness. And the way in
which they work must also be clean and hygienic. Food handlers must
wear clean and, where appropriate, protective over-clothes. Anyone
whose work involves handling food should:
- observe good personal hygiene;
- routinely wash their hands when handling
food;
- never smoke in food handling areas;
- report any illness (like infected wounds, skin
infections, diarrhoea or vomiting) to their manager or supervisor
immediately.
If any employee reports that they are suffering
from any such illness, the business may have to exclude them from
food handling areas. Such action should be taken urgently. If you
have any doubt about the need to exclude, you should seek urgent
medical advice or consult your local council Environmental Health
Services.
Food handlers must protect food and ingredients
against contamination which is likely to render them unfit for
human consumption or a health hazard. For example, uncooked poultry
should not contaminate ready-to-eat foods, either through direct
contact or through work surfaces or equipment.
Food handlers must receive adequate
supervision, instruction and/or training in food hygiene. Each food
business must decide what training or supervision their food
handlers need by identifying the areas of their work most likely to
affect food hygiene. Useful guidance may be found in relevant
Industry Guides to Good Hygiene Practice.
Many of the guidelines apply equally to food
businesses trading from temporary or occasional locations like
marquees or stalls. But because not all of them will be practical,
there are also some slightly different requirements.
However, wherever food is sold, two basic rules
always apply:-
- there should be adequate facilities to prepare
and serve food safely; and
- food handling procedures should avoid exposing
food to risk of any contamination.
The voluntary industry guides to good hygiene
practice are currently being updated to take into account the
changes to legislation.
Although these Guides are not legally binding
like the Regulations, they help you assess how well you are
following the Regulations and provide invaluable advice on food
safety. Importantly, enforcement officers will refer to them when
examining how businesses are operating.