The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for legislation requiring all restaurants and takeaway outlets in England to display their food hygiene scores prominently to customers.
The organisation that represents councils in England said that the rule should be introduced as part of post-Brexit trade legislation.
Currently, local authorities carry out hygiene inspections on all businesses that prepare and sell food and publish the results on the internet, but English restaurants and takeaways are under no obligation to display the food hygiene ratings.
The mandatory ‘Scores on the Doors’ legislation is already in place in Wales where it demonstrates hygiene standards to the paying public.
H&O Plastics has produced a colour coded cleaning poster to help hospitality clients ensure that proper hygiene measures are followed in sensitive environments.
H&O Plastics supply plastic buckets to hundreds of hygiene-conscious catering firms every year.
Because we manufacture all our own products, it puts us in a unique position to be flexible around client demands.
We can create and deliver high-quality containers in dozens of different styles, sizes, and importantly, colours.
Colour-coding is an integral part of any kitchen’s hygiene policy, and because we can deliver small-batch orders in lots of different colours, it makes us valuable supply partners for caterers.
Colour-coordinating your cleaning products helps prevent cross-contamination in sensitive environments.
Designating certain coloured products to certain areas (such as red cleaning products in washrooms) helps prevent the spread of germs into food preparation areas.
You should try to source different coloured cleaning products like brushes, cloths and, of course, buckets and put strict policies in place to prevent staff from cross-contaminating surfaces.
You may wish to designate your own colours to specific operations or processes. For example, if you operate a bar, you may want to designate specific colours for carrying ice and, if you run a restaurant, you may wish to designate certain colours to store certain types of food.
Our flexibility around bucket colour has helped in different ways too. Customers in the chemical industry, for example, use different coloured containers to distinguish between harmful and non-harmful products.
This is critical in this industry because it means that containers can be sent to foreign countries where certain handlers may not be able to read attached labels.
Good food storage is integral to passing your ‘Scores on the Doors’ inspection. H&O Plastics sell a special range of clear plastic food storage containers in different sizes to help caterers prepare food ahead of time and store it hygienically.
The containers are all made from food grade plastic, meaning they meet international standards for the safe storage of food.
The containers also have lids, so you don’t have to have uncovered food in storage areas and you can better ensure that there is no cross-contamination between foods. These lids are tamper evident meaning that they can be sent out to customers or third parties while retaining the product’s integrity.
For more information on food grade plastics please speak to a member of our accounts team. Call: 0151 639 0002
2016 is finally here and if your New Year’s Resolution was to save money this year then we have a fantastic project for you – homemade wet cleaning wipes.
These wipes are great for quick cleaning jobs in the home, in the car, and just about anywhere else. But if you buy them from the shops or over the internet they can be quite expensive – especially if you have to buy a new wet wipe dispenser every time you replenish your stock.
Fortunately though, you can make your own inexpensive cleaning wipes using only a few basic household items – kitchen roll, white vinegar (or a soapy solution) and water.
Get hold of a wet wipe dispenser from our website or reuse an old one if you have it. Next take a kitchen roll, cut it in half and insert it into your container. The roll is then ready to be doused with a cleaning product of your choice.
Which cleaning product to use is largely down to personal preference and what you plan to use the wipes for. If it’s for in the car then you might want to fill it with a leather cleaning solution (equal parts oil and vinegar makes a good homemade leather cleaner). If you intend to use the wipes in the kitchen or bathroom then you might want to make a more powerful cleaning solution using soap or bleach. If you’re using a more powerful cleaning agent then make sure you label the container so that you aren't tempted to use the towels on human skin (or heaven forbid on a baby's bum).
When the roll is suitably damp it’s up to you what to do with it. If you are using a H&O wet wipe container then we recommend you remove the cardboard tube from the middle of your roll and feed the paper through the coloured plastic insert in the top of the container – remembering to shut the lid so your wipes don’t dry out straight away.
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