Safetyfirst London • UK Food Handler Training

Key laws: Food Safety Act 1990; Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 (and NI/Scotland/Wales equivalents); Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Employers must provide safe systems, training and supervision. Food handlers must follow training and keep food safe.

• Enforcement: Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) can inspect anytime, issue notices or close premises.
• Records matter: temperatures, cleaning, deliveries, pest control, and corrective actions.

Scenario: An EHO finds raw chicken stored above salad. Immediate corrective action: discard affected salad, sanitise, retrain staff, record incident.

• Wash hands with warm water & soap for 20 seconds; dry with disposable towels.
• Wear clean uniform, hair restraint; no jewellery except a plain band; keep nails short, no acrylics.
• Cover cuts with blue waterproof plasters.
• Exclusion: vomiting/diarrhoea — 48 hours symptom-free before return.

Science: Proper handwashing removes >90% transient microbes. Norovirus can survive on surfaces for days — clean touchpoints often.

• Biological: Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli O157; Chemical: cleaning agents, allergens; Physical: glass, metal, hair.
• Use colour-coded boards & knives (e.g., red raw meat, blue raw fish, yellow cooked, green salad).
• Store raw below ready-to-eat; separate prep areas; sanitise between tasks.

Hotel breakfast: Tongs for bacon used for pastries → risk. Use separate utensils and labels.

• Chill ≤ 5°C. Freeze ≤ -18°C. Hot hold ≥ 63°C.
• Cook poultry/minced meat to 75°C for 2 minutes (or equivalent time/temp).
• Cool rapidly and refrigerate within 90 minutes; use shallow pans/blast chill if available.
• FIFO rotation; clearly label Use By (safety) vs Best Before (quality).

Science: Bacteria multiply fastest in the danger zone (5–63°C). Listeria can grow at fridge temps — keep ≤5°C and date-control RTE foods.

• Know the 14 allergens (celery, cereals w/ gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soy, sulphites, tree nuts).
• Prevent cross-contact (separate storage/utensils; dedicated fryers where needed).
• Natasha’s Law (PPDS) — full ingredients & allergens on prepacked-for-direct-sale foods.

Café example: Same knife used for almond cake and GF brownie — unsafe. Use dedicated clean tools.

• Two-stage clean: 1) detergent to remove debris; 2) approved sanitiser (BS EN 1276 / 13697). Follow contact times.
• Label chemicals; never decant into food containers; keep COSHH data sheets accessible.
• Colour-code cloths; use disposable blue roll where possible.

Science: Sanitiser efficacy depends on clean surfaces and correct contact time. Protein soils deactivate many sanitisers.

• Use lidded bins; empty frequently; keep bin store clean and separated.
• Look for droppings, gnaw marks, smear marks; report immediately; maintain pest contractor visits.
• Protective screens/door management to deter pests.

• Slips, trips, cuts and burns are common — wear non-slip footwear; keep floors dry; use guards and mitts.
• Knife safety: claw grip, stable boards, never catch falling knives.
• Fire safety: Wet chemical for deep fat fryers; never use water on oil fires.

• HACCP steps: hazard analysis, CCPs, limits, monitoring, corrective actions, records, verification.
• Daily checks: deliveries (temps/packaging), storage temps, cook/reheat temps, cleaning, calibrations.
• Corrective action must be recorded (what, why, who, when).