So what do food safety inspectors expect to see in any food room of a 5* premises?
If you take an in-depth look at Regulation 852/2004 (the last post only gave a brief synopsis) then you will realise that the requirements are quite vague.
Floors
Suitable materials are resin, rubber, vinyl, ceramic tiles and even a fine finish poured sealed concrete. Ideally it should be coved at the junction of walls, such that it cannot accumulate dirt. In reality, there is nothing to stop you using flat sheet vinyl flooring as long as you ensure the joints at walls are adequately sealed with a cleanable sealant. Don't forget, food room floors tend to get wet so ideally the flooring should provided a non-slip surface too.
Walls
Suitable materials are stainless steel sheets, ceramic tiles or plastic cladding. However, there is nothing to stop you having a smooth plaster and washable paint finish as long as the surface is easy to clean and disinfect. It's useful to remember that the requirement for smooth, easy to clean walls only applies up to a certain height (as long as the remaining wall area is in good condition). So in a room with a really high ceiling, it wouldn't be absolutely necessary to provide cladding from floor to ceiling, you could just install the appropriate wall covering to a level where cleaning is critical for example 7 feet above floor level.
When it comes to what type of floor and wall coverings to have the 4 key words are impervious, non-absorbent, washable and non-toxic. The word smooth also applies to the wall finish.
Washing Facilities
For hand washing there is no set number of wash hand basins that are required. However, every food room is expected to have at least one wash hand basin. In larger food rooms more than one may be required, especially if food handlers have to travel between areas where raw and ready to eat foods are prepared, to wash their hands. Wash hand basins must have hot and cold running water (or running water at a suitably controlled temperature) and a hygienic means of washing and drying hands. Liquid soap and paper towels are recommended.
The regulation then goes on to say that "where necessary", the facilities for washing food are to be separate from the hand washing facility. The use of the phrase "where necessary" implies that separate hand and food washing facilities may not always be required. However, if you proposed to use a large sink for both washing hands and food you would have to prove how you are controlling any risk of cross contamination. For example, it might be possible, depending on your food offer, to argue that at the start of the day, your hands are washed and then the sink is cleaned and disinfected and immediately used to wash all the food you need for the entire service. Once all the washed food required has been prepared, the sink would then revert back to being the dedicated hand wash station whilst in service. To be successful on these grounds, you would always have to be able to demonstrate that this procedure is being followed. In reality if you need to wash food then it will probably make your life easier if you have separate facilities, but the point is that a food safety officer cannot require one unless you absolutely need one, and the absence of a food wash sink shouldn't result in a lowered FHRS score unless the sinks absence is creating a risk to food safety. NB Food wash sinks are not required to have a hot water supply unless they are used for other purposes too, the regulation requirement is "an adequate supply of hot and/or cold potable water" (Potable water is clean wholesome drinking water.)
Any food business that has to wash utensils or equipment must have adequate facilities provided for doing so, with a supply of both hot and cold water. The phrase "where necessary" is used once again but it is unlikely that any food business actually exists that doesn't need to wash, on occasion, the odd bit of cutlery etc.
In general, when it comes to washing facilities the legislation is quite vague. You might be able to argue that you can still be compliant with only one sink in a food room. However, this argument would be quite flimsy and not easy to justify. In reality, most food rooms will need 3 separate facilities for the washing of hands, food and equipment.
Other Matters
Obviously, always keep the structure clean, disinfected and in good repair and ensure all surfaces in areas where food is handled are easy to clean and disinfect.
It must be noted that much of the above does not apply to food businesses that operate in movable structures or out of domestic premises. They are covered by a separate chapter and will be discussed in a future post.
