All catering businesses need to consider a number of legal obligations based on The Food Standards Agency current statutory hygiene regulations. These regulations relate to food preparation and serving areas.
It's recommended that food traders attend an approved food safety training course to ensure that you meet your legal obligations with respect to food hygiene standards. See 'train your staff' on our starting a food business page for more information.
Our food safety team routinely inspect food businesses to ensure compliance with food safety management processes and nationally set food hygiene regulations.
If you currently operate a food business or are thinking of starting a food business, visit our starting a food business page for useful advice and resources.
Food Hygiene Regulations
Below is a list of main legislative requirements in relation to food premises. The list is not exhaustive.
Wall coverings
Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 Annex II Chapter II Para. 1(b)
Wall coverings must be impervious, non-absorbent, and washable.
Use stainless steel or plastic sheeting on walls, alternatively; washable paint, epoxy resin coating, or ceramic tiles with epoxy based grouting is recommended. All areas where food is prepared and stored must be clean and capable of being kept clean.
Floor coverings
(Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 Annex II Chapter II Para. 1(a))
Floor coverings must be suitable for use in a room where food is prepared, treated or processed. Floor coverings must be impervious, non-absorbent, washable and of non-toxic material.
Floor surfaces that will satisfy the requirements of the Regulations include: Vinyl safety flooring, floor tiles (quarry/ceramic/vinyl), terrazzo tiling, cast resin flooring.
Cover all junctions between floors and other surfaces to help cleaning. All areas where food is prepared and stored must be clean and capable of being kept clean.
Ceilings
(Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 Annex II Chapter II Para. 1(c))
Ensure that the finished surface of the ceiling prevents the accumulation of dirt and reduce condensation, mould growth and flaking paint.
Smooth washable painted plaster is recommended for ceilings. Ceilings in food preparation areas must be clean and capable of being kept clean.
Work surfaces
(Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 Annex II Chapter II Para. 1(f))
Work surfaces should be easy to keep clean or disinfect. The surface should be smooth, washable and made of non-toxic materials. Unsealed wood is not suitable.
Food and equipment cleaning facilities
(Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 Annex II Chapter II Para.2)
A sink must be installed with an adequate supply of hot and cold (mains) water, properly connected to the drainage system.
A sink must be installed which is big enough to accommodate larger pieces of equipment. The sink must be provided with an adequate supply of hot and cold water and be properly connected to the drainage system.
Accessible hand wash basin
Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 Annex II Chapter I Para.4
You need to provide a hand wash basin in the kitchen and food service area with adequate supplies of hot and cold, or appropriately mixed, running water, soap and hygienic means of drying hands. The basin should be connected to the drainage system and all staff should understand that it is for hand washing only.
Equipment
Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 Annex II Chapter V Para 1(b)
All equipment which comes into contact with food must be in such good order and repair as to minimise any risk of contamination of food. Equipment should be provided which can be adequately cleaned and disinfected where necessary.
Pest control
Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 Annex II Chapter IX para 4
Food businesses must take all reasonable precautions to prevent food pests, namely rats, mice, cockroaches and flying insects gaining entry into food storage and preparation areas. This is to prevent the contamination of foodstuffs.
Any gaps and holes to external doors, windows, pipes, drains etc. must be filled or covered with a solid, durable material in order to minimise pest entry points into food preparation and storage areas.
Electric insect killers are advisable in food service areas. They should be situated in an area away from main light sources and food preparation surfaces. Also any windows which are to be kept open should be adequately pest proofed.
It's recommended that businesses contract the services of a pest control company.
Ventilation systems in kitchens
Regulation (EC) 852/2004 Annex II Chapter I para.5
Planning consent may be required for some systems - if installing a ventilation system, please contact the Planning Division on 01223 457200 for advice.
All food preparation and storage areas must have adequate ventilation either by natural or mechanical means. This is to reduce high humidity, room temperatures, cooking odours and airborne particles.
An extract system would need to be installed to remove excessive heat(and odours) from kitchens. A mechanical extract ventilation system should include as a minimum the following components:
- A canopy of adequate size sited over the cooking equipment (stainless steel preferred)
- Removable grease filters which are either washable or disposable - suitable for the type of cooking you do
- A fan of adequate capacity capable of achieving 20 air changes per hour in the kitchen and connected to a variable fan speed control switch
- Ducting to convey cooking fumes to a suitable point Adequate, permanent make up air facilities which are fly proofed where necessary and suitably sited to allow the efficient circulation of air in the kitchen
- The system should discharge with consideration so that odours do not affect neighbouring properties.
From the Resene paint and decorating problems solver
The Resene product range and Resene Total Colour System provides a huge variety of colours available in different gloss levels to suit all applications.
Gloss paints
Gloss paints have a highly reflective smooth surface and are easier to clean than paints with less surface smoothness. They are ideal for areas exposed to heavy traffic or heavy use, especially where fingerprints, grease or grime are common. Colours tinted into high gloss paints appear cleaner and more intense than colours tinted into flat paints. Due to their highly reflective appearance, gloss paints tend to highlight surface imperfections. If the surface to be painted is marred or irregular it is best to select a paint with less sheen. Gloss greater than 80% gloss: Resene Hi-Glo, Resene Enamacryl, Resene Super Gloss.
Semi-gloss paints
Semi-gloss paints have a slightly glossy appearance that is not as highly reflective as that of gloss paints. These types of finishes offer good stain resistance and are easy to clean. Paints with a semi-gloss appearance are excellent for use on many of the same areas as gloss paints. They are ideal for walls and woodwork that is subject to wear and on weatherboards and exterior cementitious surfaces. Semi-gloss 30-45%: Resene Sonyx 101, Resene Lustacryl, Resene Lusta-Glo.
Satin paints
Satin paints tend to impart more warmth and depth to surfaces than do flat paints. They are more stain resistant than flat paints, but less stain resistant than semi-gloss and gloss paints. Satin is also becoming a popular option for roofing. 20-30% gloss: Resene Summit Roof.
Low sheen paints
Low sheen paints are the most popular finish for interior broadwall areas and an ideal choice where some sheen is desired and good cleaning properties are necessary, such as in living areas, hallways, bedrooms and playrooms. Occasionally, these types of paints are used for ceilings; however, their slight sheen will tend to highlight surface imperfections. Outside low sheen finishes are most commonly used over timber, concrete and plaster finishes. Low sheen 3-19% gloss: Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen, Resene Zylone Sheen, Resene Lumbersider, Resene X-200.
Flat paints
Flat paints diffuse light, so they tend to conceal surface imperfections better than paints with higher sheen levels making them a good choice for general use on walls and ceilings, especially those that are dented or rough. Colours appear muddied and darker in a flat finish than in a glossier finish. 'Flat' finishes have a micro rough texture that may trap dirt and make cleaning more difficult than higher sheen paints. It is wise to use flat paints only in areas that do not tend to get soiled. Flat/matt less than 2%: Resene SpaceCote Flat, Resene Ceiling Paint.
Choosing the gloss level...
The current trend in finishes sees semi-gloss and low sheen finishes replacing higher gloss finishes on exterior weatherboard, stucco and other uneven surfaces. On the interior, low sheen finishes are extending from broadwall living areas into well ventilated bathrooms and kitchens. A mix of gloss levels within one area is becoming a popular way to create a subtle visual effect or highlight feature areas.
Where possible, avoid using semi-gloss or gloss paints on walls and ceilings as they will highlight surface imperfections. In comparison, matt or flat paints reflect light back in a diffused form minimising the appearance of surface imperfections. You do not need to use the same gloss level on ceilings and walls. In living areas it is very common for the walls to be painted in a low sheen finish like Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen or Resene Zylone Sheen and the ceiling to be painted in a flat finish like Resene Ceiling Paint or Resene SpaceCote Flat.
Gloss levels of paint will impact on how colour appears in certain light. The higher the gloss level, the higher the reflectance - that is, more light will bounce off a wall painted with a high gloss finish than a flat finish.
Some people prefer trim areas such as doors and windowsills to be painted in a higher level of gloss than the surrounding walls.
Higher gloss paints tend to be used in rooms such as bathrooms, kitchens and laundries as they generally complement the reflective surfaces and floors found in these rooms. Low gloss, flat and satin finishes are popular for living areas and bedrooms where the lower sheen finish complements the soft furnishings and dècor.
Wet areas
Kitchens, bathrooms and laundries are known as 'wet' areas and need special protection from steam and moisture. In these areas an easily cleaned surface is desirable. Traditionally this has forced decorators to use gloss and semi-gloss paints; however products such as Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen waterbased enamel now allow decorators to use a low sheen product in these areas without sacrificing durability or cleanability.
It is becoming increasingly common for decorators to use a low sheen finish throughout their home's interior.
See the Resene Recommended paint systems for the right paint system for your project.
Aesthetic
The gloss of a paint is essentially an aesthetic attribute, but with secondary technical implications. The vast majority of paint binders are inherently somewhat glossy and uniform reduction of gloss requires the precise disturbance of the surface of the film, so as to diffuse the incident light on it. By this definition flat paints are always rougher than glossier paints, even though this roughness is on a very small scale. Nonetheless this roughness and the way in which it is achieved affects the cleanability of the surface, the durability of the surface and the mechanical strength of that surface.
Durability
As a rule of thumb, within the same generic type of paint, glossier products will have more durability than their flatter counterparts. The rate of drop off in the durability of exterior waterborne paints with decreasing gloss is much less than that of solventborne paints and while very useful lives may be achieved with low gloss and flat waterborne paints outside, solventborne paints of the same degree of gloss would erode very rapidly.
Gloss uniformity
Gloss is not uniform over the range of viewing angles. Sheen paints may appear to be quite flat when viewed directly on (that is at 90û to the surface), but may have quite a high lustre when viewed along the surface. This may be quite significant when painting long rooms or corridors, particularly those which have a light source at one end.The chart below shows the relative levels of gloss between our decorative products as the eye sees them. In other words, Resene Sonyx 101 has a gloss level halfway between Resene Lumbersider and Resene Hi-Glo, while Resene Zylone Sheen is halfway between Resene SpaceCote Flat and Resene Lumbersider.