Food Safety in Care Settings

High quality care comes in many forms. When dealing with vulnerable people in a care setting, listening skills, patience and empathy often come to the fore, but knowledge and application of high food standards are equally important. Poor food safety standards can add to or even create serious health conditions, whereas good quality food is an important part of life for many older or vulnerable people, both from a physical and mental health perspective.

A good knowledge of food safety is also important in a supported living setting. Helping residents understand and apply these principles is vital; especially so when facing challenges such as poor eyesight, sense of smell, lack of previous cooking experience or learning difficulties. Being able to understand, apply and convey food safety information to others is a crucial skill for many carers.

Principles of food safety

In brief, good food safety is centred on preventing contaminants from entering food, from spreading from one food to another and from multiplying. This reduces risk of harm from pathogenic bacteria, physical and chemical contaminants, and allergens.

Positive actions that uphold food safety include:
Monitoring the supply chain to prevent unsafe foods and ingredients entering the premises
Correct storage to prevent cross contamination and spoilage
Cooking, chilling, reheating and hot holding according to safe times and temperatures
Thorough cleaning and high personal hygiene standards to prevent cross contamination
Good communication processes to allow teams to operate safely, especially when dealing with allergens.
Effective training programs that ensure all team members understand and fulfil their role in keeping food safe.

Consider a training program that is suited to your set up. According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), food handlers must be 'supervised, instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters commensurate with their work activities', so in a typical care setting, Level 2 Food Hygiene training will be adequate for most team member, with Level 3 training appropriate for supervisors or those looking to expand their role. Food hygiene training may also be useful for residents in a supported living setting - look for a course that is accessible, engaging and can be studied at an appropriate pace, or alongside a support worker.

Governance
Food safety compliance within the care sector is monitored both by the CQC and the FSA.

Safety is one of the fundamental standards by which the CQC assesses care settings, and as such, condition of catering facilities are subject to inspection.
As part of their inspection, the CQC inspector will check whether food preparation and storage is safe and sanitary, and whether the site employs a food safety management system (e.g. HACCP).

Care homes are also subject to the standard legislation under which all food businesses operate. As such, they will be subject to the regular inspections carried out by their local authority. FSA (or FSS in Scotland) ratings are awarded based on these inspections, which examine a site's premises, food handling processes and confidence in their food safety management and culture. For more information about the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, follow this link to The Safer Food Group's free course. (link to: https://www.thesaferfoodgroup.com/FHRS.php)

Training and support from The Safer Food Group
The Safer Food Group offers straight forward, easy to follow training courses for everyone wanting to expand their food safety knowledge, including food professionals. Our recently updated Level 2 Food Hygiene course has full accessibility features, engaging interactions, and allows the learner to study at a pace that suits them. Our video clips offer a human introduction into our written course material, which is accompanied by a downloadable course booklet, that can be kept for future reference.

For more information visit our website: www.thesaferfoodgroup.com, drop us a line at info@thesaferfoodgroup.com or call 0800 612 6784.