Food handlers have to adhere to Contamination Hazard warnings issued by various Regulatory bodies, amongst others, such as the –
(1) Food Standards Agency (FSA)
The Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 stipulates that: “A proprietor of a food business shall identify any step in the activities of the food business which is critical to ensuring food safety and ensure that adequate safety procedures are identified, implemented, maintained and reviewed on the basis of the following principles:
A:
Analysis of the potential food hazards in a food business operation;
B:
Identification of the points in those operations where food hazards may occur;
C:
Deciding which of the points identified are critical to ensuring food safety (“critical points”);
D:
Identification and implementation of effective control and monitoring procedures at those critical points;
E:
Review of the analysis of food hazards, the critical points and the control and monitoring procedures periodically, and whenever the food business’s operations change"
Statutory Instrument 1995 No. 1763
The Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995
Chapter 1
General requirements for food premises (other than those specified in Chapter III)
2. The layout, design, construction and size of food premises shall –
B:
Be such as to protect against the accumulation of dirt, contact with toxic materials, the shedding of particles into food and the formation of condensation or undesirable mould on surfaces;
C:
Permit good food hygiene practices, including protection against cross contamination between and during operations, by foodstuffs, equipment, materials, water, air supply or personal and external sources of contamination.
No raw materials or ingredients shall be accepted by a food business if they are known to be, or might reasonably expected to be, so contaminated with parasites, pathogenic micro-organisms, or toxic, decomposed or foreign substances, that after normal sorting and/or preparatory or processing procedures hygienically applied by food businesses, they would still be unfit for human consumption.
2.
Raw materials and ingredients stored in the establishment shall be kept in appropriate conditions designed to prevent harmful deterioration and to protect them for contamination.
3.
All food which is handled, stored, packaged, displayed and transported, shall be protected against any contamination likely to render the food unfit for human consumption, injurious to health or contaminated in such a way that it would be unreasonable to expect it to be consumed in that state. In particular, food must be so placed and/or protected as to minimize any risk of contamination. Adequate procedures must be in place to ensure pests are controlled.
4.
Hazardous and/or inedible substances, including animal feedstuffs, shall be adequately labeled and stored in separate and secure containers.
(2) United Kingdom Agricultural Supply Trade Association (UKASTA)
Code of Practice for storage of combinable crops
B.1 The store must be secure, clean and fit for the purpose. (R) It must be soundly constructed of durable materials, fully enclosed and proofed against birds and rodents.
Code of Practice for the storage for dry animal feed materials Effective 1st June 1999
“Switches, wiring, lighting etc., shall conform to relevant fire/safety regulations and be sited well clear of all stored materials. All light bulbs and fluorescent tubes, and any windows and glass roof lights must be guarded to prevent the possibility of glass contaminating the stored goods.”
Milk Storage room (the dairy)
The dairy must: have lights with protective coverings to minimize the risk of contamination.
1.4
The parlor should have lights with protective coverings
3.
Plant & Equipment
It is important that all mechanical and electrical installations on the farm are adequately serviced to ensure that milk quality, hygiene, and herd health and welfare problems do not arise.
(5) The Royal Society for the Promotion of Health Certification Scheme for Food Packaging Manufacturers
14. FOREIGN BODY AND GLASS CONTROL Conditions to be met:
i)
The Hazard Analysis must identify all potential sources of foreign body contamination including metal, wood, plastic, etc., and specify appropriate controls.
ii)
All sources of glass and rigid breakable plastics must be identified and appropriate steps taken to prevent them entering the product as a result of breakages, e.g. by providing diffusers on lights, laminating glass windows, etc..
iii)
In high risk areas, all sources of glass to be eliminated or protected. There must be a planned programmed for the eventual replacement of glass or other equally effective control measures.
iv)
Where glass is an unavoidable and integral part of equipment, then specific procedures must be in place to ensure the integrity of the glass at all times and for potentially affected product to be easily identified and recalled in the event of a breakage.
v)
Appropriate protocols must be formulated to deal with instances of breakages. Such protocols must include the retention and inspection of relevant batches of product and any subsequent methods of disposal.
“Producers must have a strategy in place to maintain crop hygiene during post harvest handling and storage. Ideally crops should be stored in dedicated facilities. All potential storage and holding sites must be critically assessed and prepared to use in good time before harvest. The suitability or otherwise of a site must be considered in relation to the potential hazard to the crop. This will depend on the length of time that the grain will remain in site and on a range of site specific factors.”
The scheme states that Non-glass dust covers much be used to protect electric lighting.
