1_INTRODUCTION

welcome to your very own practical and easy to use safe catering guide

Contents
Section 2_How to Use Safe Catering Section 3_Safe Catering Plan
Purchase, Delivery/Receipt, Collection Storage Preparation And Handling Cold Serve/Display Defrosting Cooking Cooling/Freezing Reheating Hot Hold/Display Physical/Chemical Contamination Food Allergies Additional Step 2-6 7-11 12-15 16-19 20-22 23-30 31-33 34-37 38-41 42-47 48-54 55

Section 4_Additional Information

Cleaning Pest Control Waste Control Maintenance Personal Hygiene Training/Supervision Advice On Using A Probe Thermometer Declaration Of Completion Of Safe Catering Plan 2-9 10-13 14 15-16 17-19 20-21 22-24 25

Section 5_Recording Forms

SECTION 1_INTRODUCTION / 1

Welcome To Safe Catering

This Safe Catering guide has been developed principally for catering businesses, but it may also be used by retailers who have a catering function within the business.
Using Safe Catering in your business will help you to:
Comply with food hygiene law Show how you make food safely Train staff Protect your business reputation Improve your business

The owner and manager should take charge of the document and work together with their staff to make sure that they use it effectively. If you are the owner/director: you are directly responsible for food safety in your business. You should discuss with your manager(s) (if you have one) how to make Safe Catering work in your business. If you are a manager: talk to the owner of the business about Safe Catering. If you are responsible for the day-to-day running of the business, then you are the best person to work through this document, talking to your staff. If you are a staff member: you must work together with management to make food that is safe to eat. The document is based on the principles of HACCP (which stands for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point). This is a process that helps you look at how you handle food and introduce procedures to make sure the food you produce is safe to eat.

HACCP involves the following 7 steps:

1. Identify what could go wrong (the hazards); 2. Identify the most important points where things can go wrong (the critical control points - CCPs); 3. Set critical limits at each CCP (e.g. cooking temperature/time); 4. Carry out checks at CCPs to prevent problems occurring (monitoring); 5. Decide what to do if something goes wrong (corrective action); 6. Prove that your HACCP Plan is working (verication); and 7. Keep records of all of the above (documentation). This HACCP Plan must be kept up to date. You will need to review it from time to time, especially whenever something in your food operation changes. You may also wish to ask your local Environmental Health Ofcer for advice.
This Safe Catering Guide may be downloaded from www.food.gov.uk/northernireland/safetyhygieneni/safecateringni/
ISSUE 4 MARCH 2007