Public Events - Guidance for organizers - Food Safety
Events may be large so that even a very experienced caterer and event organiser may be dealing with something out of the ordinary. Events may take place over a number of days requiring the storage of considerable quantities of food for longer than usual.
Four Golden Rules for Food Safety:
- Choose foods that can be cooked and served safely;
- Use staff who know what they are doing and who can demonstrate good practices of personal hygiene;
- Manage cleaning and disinfection to the highest standards;
- Store perishable foods at 8°C or below.
The Foods:
- Keep it simple and only put on the menu what can be handled safely;
- If foods cannot be stored, cooked and served safely - don't use them;
- Do not serve any salad dressing, sauce or pudding made with uncooked egg;
- Serve foods that do not require refrigeration - for example apple pie, cheddar type cheeses, and fruit salad to reduce storage problem.
Storage and cooking - cold food, buffet dishes, cream dishes:
- Hire extra refrigeration equipment as necessary. High-risk foods should be refrigerated at ideally at 5°C or less until ready for service. Keeping food cold is a priority;
- Make a list of all the cold foods to be used - then work out if there is sufficient refrigerator space to store them properly.
Storage and cooking of food that will be served hot:
- Ensure that foods can be cooked safely, core temperatures must reach at least 75°C;
- Has the equipment to be used sufficient capacity?
- If food is to be served hot is there suitable and sufficient equipment capable of keeping food above 63°C?
- Ensure dishes made with minced meats, burgers, stuffed joints and rolled joints be cooked through to core temperature of 75°C? ('No pink bits')
- Are there means for checking temperatures? Who will carry out the checks?
- The preparation of raw and cooked food must be kept separate at all times to prevent cross contamination.
- Are there separate boards and knives?
Cooking hot food/Cooking to serve cold or to reheat:
- Food must be cold within one and a half-hours of cooking so that it can be put in the refrigerator. Can this be achieved?
- If food is to be reheated it must be kept refrigerated until this takes place. The food must then be reheated to 75°C or above. Can this be achieved?
- How will the temperatures be checked and recorded?
Some final thoughts:
For further guidance on Food Safety contact the Council's Environmental Health Section located at the Civic Centre, Home Gardens, Dartford, Kent DA! 1DR, Telephone 01322 343434. Information is also available on the Council's website
If you are intending to use contract caterers or mobile food units ensure that they are registered with their own Local Authority and can demonstrate that they are trained in Food Hygiene.
Mark the location of each of the food traders on a plan in advance. Knowing where food traders are operating gives Environmental Health staff visiting the site the opportunity to clearly identify each trader and give you feedback on any issues they may have.
Make Dartford Borough Council Environmental Health staff aware of the type of food traders you intend to use at the earliest opportunity. Food inspections are prioritised on a risk basis. Food traders that are preparing high risk foods or using specialist cooking methods score more on the risk rating system than those only handling wrapped produce.
Make adequate provision for all food traders to be supplied with potable water. It is a legal requirement for food premises to have a supply of potable water. The event needs to be able to provide the traders with such a supply if they don't have their own.
Estimate the amount of food waste likely to produced and make waste collection and disposal provisions for the food traders operating at your event. If the caterers supply food in packaging then litter bins and litter picking will also need to be addressed.
