Keeping your food safe through the warmer months.

Food safety expert Jenny Morris gives her two cents on how you can keep food safe in warmer climates this summer. 1,000,000 cases of food poisoning every year Summer time and the living is easy. Or at least that’s what the Gershwin song said (if you are interested in old style musicals). But for many food businesses it means even more hard work. Hopefully it’s because good weather has brought more customers out. But when things start to heat up it’s important to think about what this means for food safety, particularly if you work outdoors in mobile or temporary outlets.  According to the Food Standards Agency there are around 1 million cases of food poisoning every year. And the number increases in the summer, particularly for cases of E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella. When I was working as an EHO, there was a large food poisoning outbreak one summer. It happened at a community event and was linked to barbecued chicken. The person in charge was not a professional caterer and knew a little about food safety. So, to make sure that the chicken was thoroughly cooked she par cooked the portions at home and brought them to the site in the back of her car (where they warmed up nicely in their black bags in the sun.) Then, the portions were quickly “flash cooked” on the barbecue – and later those who ate the chicken became ill.

Training matters For me the learning from that incident is that “a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing”. So proper training in food hygiene is essential. And if you take on new staff in anticipation of increased summer trade, training should be an urgent priority. To a professional caterer the mistakes made in cooking the chicken will be well understood but sometimes there are some less obvious hazards that pop up when the sun shines. The food safety basics – “the 4 C’s” – remain the focus of the safety controls but some adjustments may be needed. So, let’s look at them in turn.

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Tesco launches plan to reduce waste

The need for change In a remarkable bid to tackle the UK’s food waste problem, Tesco will remove ‘best before’ labels from approximately 70 pre-packaged produce lines to prevent edible food from being wrongly deemed unsafe and thus, discarded.  The Food Standards Agency, the government body charged with protecting public health in relation to food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, pleaded with the public and food suppliers last year to make more prudent decisions about what constitutes waste. ​

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KERB Workshop

The Street Food takeover There’s no denying it, street food is big business; not just in London but throughout the whole of the UK, with regular street food events popping up everywhere from Cornwall to Aberdeen. Here at NCASS, we’re committed to helping independent caterers establish new and exciting businesses, street food or otherwise - and we’re not the only ones. KERB: bringing Londoners together since 2012 Since its first market back in 2012, KERB has grown to 70 of the best traders serving over a million lunches in London’s most iconic locations including the Gherkin, Kings Cross and Camden Market. KERB founder and independent caterer/event organiser/bonified super woman Petra Barran established KERB in an endeavour to weave street food in to the fabric of London, giving Londoners a sacred space whereby they could eat communally; indeed the magic of street food lies in its ability to bring traders and customers together; an ‘agglomeration’ (poignantly, Petra’s favourite word) of people passionate about food and community.

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Labour councillor pleads with parliament to enforce mandatory ‘scores on doors.’

MP makes plea in response to poor food hygiene ratings​ ​Labour health spokeswoman and Burnley MP Julie Cooper will make a case in parliament for the mandatory display of food hygiene ratings at the entrance of all food premises. The request for a change in legislation comes as the result of increasingly poor food hygiene scores in Chorley where the number of food outlets scoring just one or zero in assessments by enforcement officers, has increased by almost 50% since September 2017.

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New guide for plastic reduction at festivals released

This week the RAW Foundation released its free festival guide – The Making Waves Guide to Plastic-Free Festivals and Events. Launched at the Green Events and Innovations Conference by A Greener Festival on March 6th, the guide focuses on educating industry stakeholders on how to move towards sustainable consumption. The RAW Foundation state that “our personal and collective choices have been altering the planet for thousands of years and now our expanding population and the global spread of consumerism mean that our ecological impact has never been more critical than it is today.” This phenomenon has historically been just as prevalent on the festival scene as it is in everyday life, and that’s why the RAW Foundation – along with Kambe Events and other partners – are trying to do something about it. The free guide is aimed at anyone who’s involved in the organisation side of festivals, no matter what size or type their event is. It runs through the consequences that have come from the use of plastics at UK events and offers practical advice for change. The guide includes: • Clear facts about plastics  • Information on plastics at festivals  • An action plan checklist  • Inspirational case studies and tips  • Links to useful resources Click on the image on the right to download the guide.

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British Street Food Awards 2018 ​British Street Food are now looking for traders to nominate themselves to compete for a British Street Food Award this year. ​ Founded in 2009 by Richard Johnson, the annual awards were set up to enable young street food traders to showcase their talent, to make street food accessible to all, and to celebrate the street food movement.

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Brexit causes one in 10 hospitality workers to consider leaving the UK

A survey concludes that one in 10 (11%) of hospitality employees are thinking of leaving the UK as a result of Brexit. The survey, conducted by YouGov on behalf of software company Planday, found that the figure, equivalent to around 300,000 UK employees, was a long way off the 4% staff loss predicted by employers in the industry. 3% of hospitality managers precited that they would be forced to close their businesses due to Brexit, and almost one in five have found staff recruitment harder now than this time last year.  John Coldicutt, chief commercial officer at Planday, said: “These findings show to us the depth of the potential impact of Brexit on the UK economy, with the hospitality industry being hit especially hard.  “There’s clearly false confidence within the hospitality sector with almost three times as many workers considering leaving as managers expect. Now more than ever it’s crucial that managers make sure they have the right infrastructure in place to engage their employees and build genuine loyalty.” ​

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