What does an inspector look for during a routine food hygiene inspection?

The purpose of an inspection is:

• To establish whether food is being handled and produced hygienically
• To establish whether food is, or will be having regard to further processing, safe to eat
• To identify foreseeable incidences of food poisoning or injury as a consequence of consumption of food.

The main things that are looked at are:

Effective management

- Do you know what the hazards are in your food business?
- Have you got controls in place to make sure those hazards don't result in food poisoning or contamination?
- Do you monitor what is going on?
- Do you have documents and records to prove your management systems are in place and that they are working effectively?

Trained staff

- Are all your staff trained to an appropriate level? That is to say, have all members of staff that handle open high-risk foods got formal food hygiene training?
- Does each employee know his food safety responsibilities?
- Can you prove it?

Temperature control

- Are chilled items kept at 8 Deg C or below?
- Is hot food on display kept at 63 Deg C
- Is food cooked thoroughly? (for example, a core temperature of 70 Deg C for 2 minutes, or 75 Deg C for 30 seconds)
- Is frozen meat and poultry thawed for sufficient time?
- Is food cooled quickly before being placed in the refrigerator?
- Do you have a thermometer capable of checking?
- A guide to the key temperatures can be viewed on the 'Germometer' (19.29 KB).
- Can you prove it?

Cleanliness

- Are all surfaces and equipment clean, and where necessary, disinfected?
- Can you prove it?
- Do you have a cleaning schedule?

This is what we don't want to see when we inspect your food business!

Avoiding Cross Contamination

- Do you keep raw and cooked foods separate?
- Have you got separate equipment (for example, colour coded chopping boards etc)?
- Is there adequate space, and is the layout appropriate?

Hygienic staff

- Do you have house rules on personal hygiene?
- Are food handlers wearing suitable over clothing?
- Do they know to report diarrhoea and vomiting to management?
- Do you screen staff before employment and when they return from abroad or sickness absence?
- Can you prove it?
- Are cuts etc properly covered
- Is there evidence of smoking?

Hand washing Facilities

- Wash basin with hot and cold running water.
- Soap (from a dispenser) and paper towels or other hygienic method of drying the hands evidence
- Evidence that they are in use for their intended purpose!

Absence of pests

Are there any signs of these in your food premises?

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