Nursery Food: Food Hygiene - Coming clean

Ahigh standard of food hygiene begins with the writing of a food hygiene policy for the setting, which all members of staff can understand and follow. It is a good idea to display this prominently – along with any certificates relating to individual staff training – as this will reassure parents, and provide useful reference.

There should also be a designated member of staff who is responsible for food hygiene, who is always on hand to answer any questions.

All providers should, of course, put into place a rigorous cleaning schedule where areas of food preparation and storage are routinely cleaned, disinfected or sterilised according to their use. Local Environmental Health officers are on hand to offer help and advice.

WRITING A FOOD HYGIENE POLICY

To prevent the spread of infection and to ensure food preparations are safe, it is essential that food safety guidance is adhered to. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) summarises the four main factors affecting good food hygiene as ‘the four Cs’:

Cross-contamination The spread of bacteria between food, surfaces and equipment is a common cause of food poisoning. Keeping surfaces and equipment used for the preparation and storage of raw food separate from ready-to-eat food, and effective hand-washing, will help prevent cross-contamination.

Cleaning Effective cleaning of hands, surfaces and equipment, particularly between different tasks, is essential.

Chilling Foods should be stored appropriately, particularly those that need to be kept chilled to keep them safe and prevent the growth of bacteria. Use-by dates should be clearly labelled and adhered to.

Cooking Food should be cooked properly to eliminate harmful bacteria that may be present.

While these are the main tenets of food safety, other factors are also important, such as personal hygiene, a safe water supply, food waste disposal, maintenance and pest control.

OFSTED REQUIREMENTS

As well as putting children and staff members’ health and well-being at risk, poor food safety and hygiene can affect the outcomes of Ofsted inspections. Many of those nurseries which have been rated ‘inadequate’ included serious concerns about hygiene and health and safety.

An Ofsted spokesperson says, ‘When it comes to inspections of early years settings, Ofsted looks at the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements relating to food and drink. This requires that where food and drink is provided, it must be healthy, balanced and nutritious, that there must be a suitable area for preparing healthy meals, relevant training in hygiene for staff who are handling food, and records kept of any food allergies.’

Ofsted must also be notified of any incidences of food poisoning affecting two or more children as soon as possible, and no later than two weeks after it occurred. Not doing so is considered an offence.

STAFF TRAINING

Food safety training for those members of staff who are involved in the handling and preparation of food is statutory and should be repeated every three years.

There are a number of national and local providers offering accredited food safety training. Some local authorities also offer food safety training, and it is worth getting in touch with them to find out about the range of courses they offer.

Many of the Level 2 basic food hygiene courses range approximately between £10.50 (excluding VAT) for online programmes lasting between two and four hours, and £65 (excluding VAT) for a full day of face-to-face training.

Depending on the size of the setting and the number of staff members requiring training, it may be possible to negotiate group rates with providers.

ACHIEVING AND MAINTAINING HIGH STANDARDS

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is run by the FSA in partnership with local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Inspections are carried out by a food safety officer on behalf of the local authority where the premises are located.

During the inspection process, the officer will look at three main areas:

Food-handling and hygiene Food preparation, cooking, cooling and storing, and measures in place to avoid contamination.

Building structure and conditionCleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, equipment and other facilities.

Record-keeping and management to ensure food safety The officer will look for evidence that hygiene standards will be maintained in the future.

Depending on the above criteria, the setting will be rated from 0 to 5. Those that receive a 5 are considered to have very good hygiene standards. According to the FSA, all settings should be able to achieve a 5, and officers will provide guidance, where necessary, on how to achieve a better rating.

Yvonne Kerr, business owner of the Yvonne Kerr Childcare Group, explains that the inspection process is very thorough. For example, the food safety officer will interview the cook, talk to staff members, and look at the records, policies and approaches in place. Ms Kerr also emphasises the importance of ensuring that all staff receive appropriate training to ensure high standards are maintained.

Sam Brookes, nursery manager at Carousel Day Nursery in Lye, West Midlands, says to embed high standards of food hygiene it is necessary to start right from employees’ induction process – ‘so that staff members know what is expected of them’. She adds that managers should draw up policies that are clear and easy to understand and which do not rely on the use of too much jargon.

Cheryl Hadland, managing director of the Hadland Care Group, echoes the importance of having practical policies and procedures in place and says it is ‘critical that you don’t have instructions in your documentation that you don’t follow, as that is even worse than not having them in the first place’.

Some settings carry out internal inspections to maintain the high standards they have achieved. ‘We run our own internal inspections. We would rather identify any issues or policies not being followed before any external inspections, and most certainly before any health risks present,’ says Ms Hadland. ‘We have robust policies and procedures which we evaluate annually, as well as if any new issues arise which might mean making changes.’

She adds, ‘A group of early years professionals meet regularly within the company, who do group reflections and discussions to help develop policies and procedures – and this includes any relating to food safety.

‘We employ a full-time, qualified, health and safety manager who inspects every setting twice a year, and provides support and guidance on all health and safety issues.

‘Our managers carry out daily, weekly, monthly and annual checks in every kitchen, and room with a kitchen, and upload the checks so head office can also spot-check. Checks are individually edited for each setting to ensure they are relevant and appropriate – and not excessive, as health and safety can become overwhelming.’

She reports that cooks also meet together once every six months for a forum to discuss food safety as well as menus and budgets. ‘An area manager or the operations director, plus the health and safety manager, attend as well, and it is a useful and supportive forum for professional colleagues to discuss their issues and move practice forward.’

Not all settings have the means or staff to carry out such detailed and frequent internal inspections and checks. However, Ms Brookes at Carousel recommends that managers should monitor hygiene procedures on a daily basis.

CASE STUDY

Beacon Nursery, Cedars Pre-school and Whipton Children’s Centre, which are run by the charity Action for Children, were all routinely inspected by Environmental Health last summer and all were awarded the highest rating of 5.

Deborah Bolt, kitchen supervisor, says, ‘I am passionate in protecting our children, their families and our staff. Food safety is at the forefront of everything I do, always mindful that I am producing food for a very vulnerable age group.

‘Our staff regularly take part in food safety training, using a local provider. Alongside this, I regularly update staff on the importance of keeping long hair tied back, food areas clean and tidy and generally maintaining a high standard of cleanliness. This is done by email and at monthly team meetings.

‘I believe that being a good role model goes a long way in promoting the importance of food safety, and we keep our families in the loop through our social network page, website and consultation boards. This complements the research I carry out based on information from the FSA, the Children’s Food Trust, Change for Life and up-to-date government policies relating to childhood obesity, and I aim to play an active role in helping our families achieve the best outcome for their children.’

TRAINING COURSES

NDNA, Childcare Food Hygiene Training, www.ndna.org.uk/childcare-training-food-hygiene

PACEY, Basic Food Hygiene, https://www.pacey.org.uk/shop/training/online-training/basic-food-hygiene

NEBOSH accredited courses, https://www.nebosh.org.uk

CACHE, Level 2 Award, http://bit.ly/2j8QOqt

Food hygiene certificates are available through a range of online courses, including www.food-hygiene-certificate.co.uk, which is City & Guilds-accredited

MORE INFORMATION

Business toolkit for promoting good food hygiene, https://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/caterers/hygieneratings/toolkit

E. coli O157: control of cross-contamination, https://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/guidancenotes/hygguid/ecoliguide

Food Handlers: Fitness to Work, https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/multimedia/pdfs/publication/fitnesstoworkguide09v3.pdf

Shelf life and storage of food, https://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/food-hygiene/shelf-life-storage

Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage, http://bit.ly/1qoLqA7

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