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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Food Hygiene Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that food prepared, handled, stored, provided or served by, or with the support of, {{org_field_name}} is managed safely and hygienically and in a manner appropriate to the needs, choices and circumstances of people using the service.

Proper food hygiene is essential to prevent foodborne illness, contamination and cross-contamination and to protect the health and safety of people using the service.

This policy aims to:

• Ensure compliance, where applicable, with the Food Safety Act 1990, the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, applicable food information and allergen legislation, and other relevant food safety legislation in force in England.
• Support compliance with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, including Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment), Regulation 14 (Meeting Nutritional and Hydration Needs), Regulation 17 (Good Governance) and Regulation 18 (Staffing), where those regulations apply to the support being provided.
• Ensure that, where meeting a person’s nutritional or hydration needs forms part of the arrangements for their care or treatment, those needs are assessed and met safely and in accordance with the person’s needs, preferences, consent and care or support plan.
• Prevent food contamination, cross-contamination and foodborne illness through appropriate food safety controls.
• Ensure that staff who prepare, handle or serve food have appropriate food hygiene instruction, supervision, training and competence for the duties they undertake.
• Ensure that food allergies, intolerances, prescribed dietary requirements and other relevant nutritional risks are identified, recorded, communicated and managed safely.
• Ensure that people’s choices, independence, religious beliefs, cultural requirements and preferences relating to food and drink are respected.

2. Scope

This policy applies to employees, workers, agency staff and other persons acting on behalf of {{org_field_name}} where their duties involve preparing, handling, storing, reheating, cooking, serving or otherwise supporting a person with food or drink.

It also applies, where relevant, to:

• Staff supporting people with shopping, meal planning, food preparation, cooking, eating or drinking as part of an agreed care or support plan.
• Catering staff and contractors engaged by {{org_field_name}} where food is provided as part of the service.
• Food suppliers and other contractors where {{org_field_name}} has responsibility for ensuring the safety of food supplied as part of the regulated service.
• People using the service who prepare food with staff support, to the extent necessary to enable staff to provide safe and appropriate support.

Supported living accommodation is normally the person’s own home. Nothing in this policy gives staff general control over a person’s kitchen, food choices or domestic arrangements where these do not form part of the care or support being provided.

Where a person has capacity to make decisions about their food and drink, their choices must be respected. Staff must obtain consent before providing care or support with nutrition, hydration or food preparation.

Where a person lacks capacity to make a particular decision about food, nutrition or hydration, staff must act in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and any applicable best-interests decision.

Where meeting a person’s nutritional or hydration needs forms part of the arrangements made by {{org_field_name}} for the provision of care or treatment, staff must follow the person’s assessed needs, care or support plan, risk assessments and any professional dietary or clinical instructions.

Where the person independently purchases, stores and prepares their own food without support from {{org_field_name}}, staff must respect the person’s independence and are not responsible for routinely managing the person’s domestic food hygiene arrangements unless a relevant risk has been identified and support has been agreed.

Where {{org_field_name}} carries on activities that amount to operating a food business, the applicable food business registration, food hygiene, food safety management, allergen and local authority requirements must also be complied with.

3. Legal and Regulatory Framework

3.1 Health and Social Care Act 2008 and CQC Requirements

This policy must be implemented in accordance with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, as amended.

The regulations particularly relevant to this policy include:

• Regulation 9 – Person-centred care: Care and treatment must be appropriate, meet the person’s needs and reflect their preferences. This includes taking appropriate account of individual food and drink preferences and assessed needs where these form part of the person’s care and support.
• Regulation 11 – Need for consent: Care and treatment, including support with food, drink and nutrition, must be provided with the consent of the relevant person unless another lawful basis applies.
• Regulation 12 – Safe care and treatment: Care and treatment must be provided safely. Relevant risks must be assessed and reasonably practicable action taken to mitigate those risks. Staff providing care or treatment must have the competence, skills and experience necessary to do so safely, and appropriate infection prevention and control arrangements must be followed.
• Regulation 14 – Meeting nutritional and hydration needs: Where meeting a person’s nutritional or hydration needs forms part of the arrangements made for their care or treatment, those needs must be met. Food and drink must be suitable and nutritious, sufficient to meet assessed needs and provided in accordance with relevant preferences, religious requirements, cultural requirements, allergies, intolerances and other dietary requirements.
• Regulation 17 – Good governance: Effective systems and processes must be maintained to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of services and to assess, monitor and mitigate risks. Appropriate and accurate records relating to people’s care and relevant food safety controls must be maintained.
• Regulation 18 – Staffing: Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal necessary to enable them to carry out their duties safely and competently.

Regulation 14 applies where nutrition or hydration is provided as part of the arrangements made for the person’s care or treatment. In supported living, the person’s independence and control over their own home and daily life must continue to be respected.

3.2 Food Safety and Hygiene Legislation

Where applicable to the activities carried out by {{org_field_name}}, the organisation will comply with:

• Food Safety Act 1990: Food supplied in the course of a business must comply with applicable food safety requirements and must not be rendered injurious to health, unfit for human consumption or falsely described.
• Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013: These regulations provide the current food hygiene enforcement framework in England and include requirements relating to food hygiene and temperature control.
• Applicable assimilated food hygiene law, including Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs, as amended: Where {{org_field_name}} operates as a food business, appropriate food safety management procedures based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point principles must be implemented and maintained as required by law.
• Food Information Regulations 2014, as amended: Applicable food information and allergen requirements must be complied with.
• Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019: Where {{org_field_name}} produces food that meets the legal definition of prepacked for direct sale food, the applicable ingredients and allergen labelling requirements must be followed.

3.3 Food Allergens

Food businesses must provide the legally required information about the 14 allergens specified in food law.

The method by which this information must be provided depends on how the food is supplied:

• Prepacked food must comply with the applicable ingredients and allergen labelling requirements.
• Prepacked for direct sale food must, where the legislation applies, be labelled with the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with allergenic ingredients emphasised as required by law.
• For non-prepacked food, allergen information must be available for each relevant food item in accordance with the applicable legal requirements.

Staff must not guess whether a food contains an allergen. Where reliable allergen information cannot be established, the food must not be represented as suitable for a person with the relevant allergy.

3.4 Food Business Registration and Enforcement

Where activities carried out by {{org_field_name}} meet the legal definition of a food business requiring registration, the relevant food business establishment must be registered with the appropriate local authority in accordance with the applicable legal requirements.

{{org_field_name}} must co-operate with authorised local authority food safety and environmental health officers and comply with any lawful requirements, notices or restrictions imposed under food safety legislation.

Food safety management documentation and records required by the organisation’s food safety system must be maintained and made available to authorised officers where legally required.

4. Food Hygiene Management at {{org_field_name}}

4.1 Personal Hygiene Standards

All staff who prepare, handle or serve food must maintain appropriate standards of personal hygiene and take reasonable precautions to prevent contamination.

Staff must:

• Wash their hands thoroughly with soap and warm running water at appropriate times, including before preparing or handling food, after using the toilet, after handling raw food, after handling waste and whenever their hands may have become contaminated.
• Dry their hands hygienically after washing.
• Wear clean and suitable clothing when preparing or handling food and use protective clothing, such as an apron, where appropriate to the task and food safety risk.
• Keep hair appropriately restrained where necessary to prevent contamination of food.
• Avoid wearing items or undertaking activities that could contaminate food, including inappropriate jewellery or touching the face, hair or other potential contamination sources while handling food.
• Cover cuts, sores and wounds on exposed skin with a suitable waterproof, preferably brightly coloured, dressing where food handling remains safe.
• Inform their manager immediately if they have diarrhoea, vomiting or another illness, infection, infected wound, skin condition or symptom that may present a risk of contaminating food.
• Not handle food or enter a food handling area where there is a likelihood of directly or indirectly contaminating food while suffering from, or carrying, an illness that could be transmitted through food.
• Following diarrhoea and/or vomiting, remain excluded from food handling duties until they have been free from symptoms for at least 48 hours, unless different exclusion arrangements are required following advice from a relevant medical professional, environmental health officer or public health professional.
• Follow any additional infection prevention and control measures required following a suspected or confirmed outbreak.

Managers must ensure that staff understand their responsibility to report relevant illness and that appropriate action is taken immediately to prevent contamination of food.

4.2 Food Storage and Temperature Control

• Cold Storage:
  • Refrigerators must be kept at ≤5°C and freezers at ≤-18°C.
  • Raw meat must be stored separately from ready-to-eat foods.
  • All food items must be labelled with expiry dates and use-by dates.
• Dry Storage:
  • Food must be stored in sealed containers in clean, dry, and ventilated conditions.
  • Pest control measures must be in place to prevent contamination.
• Hot Holding:
  • Cooked food must be kept at ≥63°C before serving.
  • Hot food that falls below this temperature must be reheated to at least 75°C before serving.
• Defrosting and Reheating:
  • Food must be defrosted in the refrigerator or microwave, never at room temperature.
  • Reheated food must reach a core temperature of 75°C for at least two minutes.

4.3 Food Preparation and Cross-Contamination Prevention

• Separate chopping boards for raw meat, cooked food, vegetables, and dairy products.
• Colour-coded utensils to prevent cross-contamination.
• Thorough washing of fruits and vegetables before use.
• Strict protocols for handling high-risk foods, including dairy, seafood, and poultry.
• Disposable gloves must be changed between handling different food groups.

4.4 Allergen Management and Special Dietary Needs

{{org_field_name}} must have effective arrangements for identifying and managing food allergies, food intolerances and other dietary requirements where staff provide or support the provision of food as part of the person’s care or support.

Staff must:

• Ensure that known food allergies, intolerances and clinically relevant dietary requirements are accurately recorded in the person’s care or support documentation where these are relevant to the service being provided.
• Check current and reliable ingredient and allergen information before providing food to a person with a known allergy.
• Never guess whether food contains an allergen.
• Check food labels each time where necessary, as ingredients and formulations may change.
• Take appropriate precautions to prevent allergen cross-contact during storage, preparation, cooking and serving.
• Use appropriately cleaned equipment, utensils, preparation surfaces and storage arrangements to control allergen cross-contact.
• Follow any individual allergy management plan, risk assessment, healthcare professional advice or emergency plan in place for the person.
• Be able to recognise signs of an allergic reaction relevant to their role and know how to obtain emergency assistance and follow the person’s emergency care instructions.
• Ensure that food supplied by {{org_field_name}} complies with applicable allergen information requirements.

Where food is prepacked, prepacked for direct sale or non-prepacked, the applicable legal requirements for that category of food must be followed.

Where prepacked for direct sale legislation applies, the food must be labelled with the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with allergenic ingredients emphasised in accordance with the applicable legal requirements.

A food must not be described or represented as “allergen-free” or “free-from” unless the organisation can substantiate that description and has appropriate controls in place to meet the applicable legal requirements.

A completely separate permanent food preparation area is not required in every case. The controls used must instead be appropriate and sufficient to prevent or adequately control allergen cross-contact according to the circumstances and assessed risk.

People’s religious requirements, cultural requirements, ethical choices, preferences and clinically prescribed diets must be taken into account where food or nutrition support forms part of their care or support.

4.5 Cleaning and Waste Disposal

• Daily cleaning schedules for all kitchen and dining areas.
• Use of approved cleaning agents to sanitise work surfaces and equipment.
• Waste bins must be emptied regularly and cleaned with disinfectant.
• Compliance with waste disposal regulations for food waste and recyclable materials.

4.6 Pest Control

• Regular pest inspections by external contractors.
• Immediate action must be taken if signs of pests (e.g., droppings, nesting materials) are identified.

5. Staff Training and Responsibilities

5.1 Food Hygiene Training and Competence

Staff who prepare, handle or serve food must receive food hygiene supervision, instruction and/or training appropriate to the nature of the work they undertake and the food safety risks involved.

{{org_field_name}} will determine the level and content of food hygiene training required according to each person’s role, responsibilities and competence requirements.

A particular commercial qualification or a Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate is not, by itself, a universal statutory requirement. However, {{org_field_name}} may require an accredited food hygiene qualification where this is necessary to demonstrate competence for a particular role.

Staff whose duties involve food handling must be able to demonstrate appropriate knowledge and competence in matters relevant to their duties, which may include:

• Personal hygiene and effective handwashing.
• Fitness to work and reporting illness.
• Prevention of cross-contamination.
• Safe storage and temperature control.
• Safe cooking, reheating and hot holding.
• Cleaning and disinfection.
• Food allergen management.
• Safe disposal of food and waste.
• Relevant food safety records and monitoring procedures.

Managers and supervisors responsible for the development or maintenance of a food safety management system based on HACCP principles must have adequate training in the application of those principles where required by applicable food hygiene legislation.

Training, instruction, supervision and competency assessments must be recorded where appropriate and reviewed when:

• A member of staff changes role or responsibilities.
• A significant food safety procedure changes.
• An incident, audit or competency assessment identifies a gap in knowledge or practice.
• Relevant legal or regulatory requirements change.

5.2 Staff Responsibilities

• Catering staff: Ensure all meals meet food safety standards.
• Care staff: Monitor service users during meals and report concerns.
• Management: Conduct monthly audits to ensure compliance.

6. Monitoring and Compliance

6.1 Monitoring, Records and Regulatory Inspection

{{org_field_name}} must maintain proportionate systems for monitoring food hygiene and food safety where food preparation, handling, storage or serving forms part of the service.

Where relevant to the food activities undertaken, monitoring must include:

• Appropriate checks of refrigeration and freezer temperatures.
• Appropriate checks of cooking, reheating and hot-holding controls where these processes are carried out.
• Cleaning and hygiene checks.
• Monitoring of food storage and date control.
• Monitoring of allergen controls.
• Review of food safety incidents, concerns and corrective actions.
• Review of food safety management procedures and records where {{org_field_name}} operates as a food business.

Records required under the organisation’s food safety management arrangements must be accurate, complete and retained in accordance with applicable requirements.

Management must assess and monitor compliance with this policy and take prompt corrective action where deficiencies are identified.

Local authority food safety or environmental health inspections will take place in accordance with the local authority’s regulatory and risk-based inspection arrangements. The policy does not assume that an external environmental health inspection or audit will take place annually.

Staff must co-operate with authorised food safety officers and management must act promptly on lawful requirements, notices or other enforcement action.

6.2 Food Safety Incidents and Suspected Foodborne Illness

Any suspected foodborne illness, significant food hygiene failure, allergen incident or other event that may have affected the safety of food supplied or handled by {{org_field_name}} must be reported immediately to the manager or responsible person.

The manager must:

• Take immediate action to protect people from further exposure to the suspected food safety risk.
• Preserve relevant information, packaging, food labels, menus, temperature records, food safety records and other evidence where appropriate.
• Identify and isolate affected food where necessary.
• Ensure that appropriate medical assistance is obtained for any person who is unwell or experiencing an allergic reaction.
• Record the incident, actions taken, persons affected and outcome.
• Notify or seek advice from the relevant local authority food safety or environmental health team where a suspected food poisoning incident, outbreak or other reportable food safety concern requires regulatory involvement.
• Where {{org_field_name}} is acting as a food business operator and has reason to believe that food under its control is unsafe, take the withdrawal, recall, consumer information and competent-authority notification action required by applicable food law.
• Notify the Care Quality Commission where the circumstances or consequences of the incident meet a statutory CQC notification requirement.
• Make any other statutory notification required by the circumstances of the incident.
• Review the cause of the incident and implement corrective and preventative action.

Public Health England must not be used as the routine reporting body in this policy. Food safety and suspected food poisoning matters must be escalated through the current appropriate local authority, food safety and public health arrangements according to the circumstances.

All incidents and resulting actions must be documented and reviewed so that lessons are identified and risks of recurrence are reduced.

7. Service User Engagement and Feedback

• Service users are encouraged to provide feedback on meals and food hygiene standards.
• Regular food safety awareness sessions for service users participating in meal preparation.

8. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually or sooner if:

• New food safety legislation is introduced.
• A serious food hygiene incident occurs.
• Service user feedback suggests improvements.

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Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
Copyright © {{current_year}} – {{org_field_name}}. All rights reserved.