Prototype off-the-peg Food Service trial

10 Appendix III: Pre-trial assessment

Guidance Notes: Food Service OTP-FCP Pre-trial Assessment

The aim of the pre-trial assessment is to determine the starting point (baseline) of each participating food business prior to implementing the Off-the-peg, Food Control Plan (OTP-FCP). This pretrial assessment will seek to benchmark each business against the OTP-FCP requirements. These results will be compared against the later post-trial results to determine if any changes have taken place during the trial.

There are three parts to the pre-trial assessment:

Part 1 – scope and nature of food business activities

This section is designed to capture details about the nature of the food business including the scope of activities (eg,, types of processes, size of the business measured by staff numbers, setting numbers and number of meals served etc).

Part 2 – level of existing documentation, monitoring and Records

Establish for each element of the Food Service OTP-FCP if the food business has any of the following:

• Documented criteria – Do they have any procedures or policies written down for staff? Do you consider that they are below, equivalent or above the requirements contained in the OTP-FCP? Some key words/ phrases are included to help you remember what the OTP-FCP covers. Write down the reason for the grade if it is above or below the OTPFCP requirements, as this will help identify areas of change with the implementation of the OTP-FCP.

• Monitored – is there any system for checking what is actually occurring? This may be a visual check, temperature check, testing or any other regular measurement. If there is monitoring occurring then compare it to the monitoring activity and frequency outlined in the OTP-FCP.

• Records – Is there a record of the monitoring kept? Records can consist of forms, diary, log book etc. You are likely to find a variety of combinations of the above in place in food business. For example some may monitor and record a measurement but have no written documentation while others may have a written procedure but no monitoring or recording.

Part 3 – standard of existing practises

Grade the existing practices in the business against each element of the Food Service FCP by recording the following:

• Are the existing practices in the food business delivering a level of control that is below, equivalent or above the requirements that would be expected if the OTP-FCP was fully implemented? (Professional judgement will be needed to be applied taking into account answers provided by the business and what is observed in practice on site). Record the reason for the grade if it is above or below the OTP-FCP as this will help identify areas of change with the implementation of the OTP-FCP.

To undertake the pre-trial assessment you will require a good knowledge of the OTP-FCP

Food Service OTP pre-trial assessment

Trading Name (of business being assessed):	*Date of Assessment*
*Type of business (e.g. Thai restaurant, truck stop, hotel etc)*
*Address of Business:*
Interviewee name:	*Position:*
*Interviewer:*

Scope of activities (what processes are occurring)	Verifier comments (possible areas not covered by OTP FCP)
£ Defrosting Frozen Food £ Preparation £ Cooking £ Cooking Poultry and Meat £ Hot Holding prepared food £ Cooling Hot Prepared Food £ Reheating Prepared food £ Display and Self Service £ Transporting Food
*Sale of activities (type and size of business)*
No. of direct food handlers employed in the kitchen?	Full-time	*Part-time*

No. of Serving/waiting staff employed?
No. of Management? (non food handlers)
No. of meals served per day? (volume of food produced)	Average No:	Max/peak season No:
Customer seating numbers?
Is there any catering off site? (eg. function catering at a venue, catering office lunches, morning or afternoon teas)	£ Yes £ No (If yes please define)
Do they have a takeaway service?	Customer collected £ Yes £ No	Home delivered £ Yes £ No
Do they have a buffet?	£ Cold buffet £ hot buffet £ No buffet
Is potentially hazardous food prepared (PHF) in advance? (PHF is food that must be kept below 4oC or above 60oC) to minimise the growth of any harmful microbes)	£ Yes £ No	Cook-chill £ Yes £ No
	If in advanced how far in advance?
What food safety training does the FCP Manager have?	Certificated food hygiene training: £ Yes £ No On the job training: £ Yes £ No
What is the FCP Managers knowledge of documented food safety systems (eg,, HACCP, FSP, RMP)	£ Low £ Medium £ high
Is English a second language?	£ Yes £ No (If yes what is the primary language used by staff?)

Procedure	Assessment of documented criteria and onsite practices in comparison with the Food Service OTP FCP	*Reasoning / observation*
*Management (Section 1)*
Training & supervision	Documented Procedure – food safety Induction (topics covered: Hand hygiene; personal hygiene; health and sickness; potentially hazardous food; cleaning and sanitising; Food Allergens), when to train staff, training in procedures relating to tasks.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	FCP Managers and Staff Training Records – tasks staff trained in, employee signed, supervisor signed, date trained.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices – talk to management and staff about the type of training they have completed.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
*The Basics (Section 2)*
Health & sickness	Documented Procedure – exclusion criteria for sick staff, what to do if someone vomits in premises, person nominated for staff to report to	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Staff Sickness Records – name, symptoms, date of onset, date notified, faecal results, date excluded, date returned to work.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices – talk to manager about how decisions are made about sick staff working or not.	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
Hand hygiene	Documented Procedure – how and when to hand wash, using gloves, jewellery and finger nails.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices - observe hand washing methods and frequency and/or talk to food handlers.	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below

Procedure	Assessment of documented criteria and onsite practices in comparison with the Food Service OTP FCP	*Reasoning / observation*
Personal hygiene	Documented Procedure – clothing, personal conduct, cuts and sores.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices - observe clothing, hands for plasters etc and food handlers conduct, talk to food handlers.	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
Cleaning & sanitising	Documented Procedure – cleaning schedule covers what, how, frequency and who. Storage of chemicals, use of cloths.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Monitoring - frequency of monitoring: daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Records	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices - is the food premises clean, are cleaning chemicals stored safely, use of cloths controlled, staff knowledge on cleaning methods good.	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
Food allergens	Documented Procedure – Know what allergens to control, Know what’s in the food they sell, avoid cross contamination.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Records - written details of all ingredients available	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices - talk to staff on how they respond to questions about allergens from customer.	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below

Procedure	Assessment of documented criteria and onsite practices in comparison with the Food Service OTP FCP	*Reasoning / observation*
Waste Disposal	Documented Procedure – adequate bins, frequency of emptying of bins for food preparation and external areas, cleaning of bins, food waste for pigs.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices - are there enough bins, are they emptied frequently, and cleaned? Is food for pigs controlled?	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
Pest Control	Documented Procedure – not attracting pests, keeping pests out, checking for pest activity, Pets and companion animals	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Monitoring – frequency of checks, monthly?	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Records of Moitoring	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices - are there enough bins, are they emptied frequently, and cleaned? Is food for pigs controlled?	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
Maintenance	Documented Procedure – maintenance schedule, standard for Kitchen and Food Preparation Areas including hand washing facilities	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Records – planned and unplanned maintenance.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices – do they maintain equipment regularly, Is the premises in good repair, adequate hand washing facilities?	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below

Procedure	Assessment of documented criteria and onsite practices in comparison with the Food Service OTP FCP	*Reasoning / observation*
Customer Complaints and recalls	Documented Procedure – investigate complaints and fix problem.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Customer complaint records – contact details, complaint details, date, time, action taken.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices – ask what they do if they receive complaints?	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
*Cook Safe (Section 3)*
Potentially hazardous foods	Does the interviewee have good knowledge of what potentially hazardous foods are?	£ Yes £ No
Checking temperatures	Documented Procedure – cleaning thermometer, how to use thermometer and calibration of thermometer.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Calibration records - frequency of calibration, 3 monthly?	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices – do they have a thermometer? How do they clean it? Do they know how to use it? Is it calibrated?	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below

Procedure	Assessment of documented criteria and onsite practices in comparison with the Food Service OTP FCP	*Reasoning / observation*
Purchasing & Receiving Goods	Documented Procedure – approved suppliers, criteria for receiving incoming good)	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Monitoring of incoming goods – frequency, every delivery?	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Approved supplier records – contact details, goods supplied	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Recording of rejected goods – include time, condition, supplier details	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices – how do they know they are buying from safe sources? Do they check goods as they arrive and know when they should reject goods?	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
Storage	Documented Procedure – dry Goods, stock rotation, utensils and equipment.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices – how are dry goods, utensils and equipment stored? So they have a stock rotation policy.	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below

Procedure	Assessment of documented criteria and onsite practices in comparison with the Food Service OTP FCP	*Reasoning / observation*
Chilled / Frozen Food Storage	Documented Procedure – covers chilled and Frozen temperatures storage temperatures, Keeping products covered and date marked, preventing cross contamination.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Monitoring Records - monitoring frequency, daily chillers, weekly freezers.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Records of temperature checks – food temp check recorded.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices – is potentially hazardous food being kept at safe temperatures? Are foods covered, date marked and protected from cross contamination if necessary?	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
Defrosting	Documented Procedure – how food is to be defrosted.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices - are they defrosting food in a safe manner?	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
Preparation	Documented Procedure – washing fruit and veg,etables, avoiding cross contamination, ensuring food not held in the danger zone for more than 4 hours total (preparation and display)	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices - do they wash fruit and veg,etables? How is ready to eat food protected from contamination? How long is food in the danger zone during preparation?	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below

Procedure	Assessment of documented criteria and onsite practices in comparison with the Food Service OTP FCP	*Reasoning / observation*
Cooking Poultry & Meat	Documented Procedures – covering safe cooking methods (including temperatures) for poultry and meat products. If temperatures are below 75oC are safe time/temperatures set. Have trials been completed where standard time/ temperature cooking methods are used.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Are cooking temperatures of poultry and meat products monitored? £ None £ Visual £ Probe each time £ Probe sample of batch £ Standard setting
	Monitoring frequency – for foods where standard time/temp settings used (weekly check of one product/dish).	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Are cooking temperatures of other foods monitored? £ None £ Visual £ Probe each time £ Probe sample of batch £ Standard setting
	Records of temperatures – are temperature readings recorded each time a food is probed?	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices – is there any evidence that food is reasonably likely not to be cooked properly?	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
Hot holding Prepared Food	Documented Procedures – not using bains marie/hot cabinet to reheat food, correct operation of hot holding equipment including temperature (60 degrees or hotter).	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Monitoring – internal temp of food/ air temperature? Frequency (daily?)	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Records of temperature checks	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices – is food being held hot safely?	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below

Procedure	Assessment of documented criteria and onsite practices in comparison with the Food Service OTP FCP	*Reasoning / observation*
Cooling hot Prepared food	Documented Procedure– method for cooling foods to 4oC within 4 hours. Checking food has cooled within the timeframe.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Monitoring frequency – check cooling of one dish per week	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Records of cooling	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
Reheating Prepared food	Documented Procedure – method of reheating food quickly and thoroughly to 75oC.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Monitoring frequency – check reheating of one dish per week.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Records of reheating temperatures	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices - are they reheating food in a safe way?	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below

Procedure	Assessment of documented criteria and onsite practices in comparison with the Food Service OTP FCP	*Reasoning / observation*
Display & Self Service	Documented Procedure – displaying and serving food safety – protection from contamination, refreshing food displays, safe temperature – chilled or not held longer than 4 hours (includes preparation time remember)	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Monitoring chilled display – monitoring frequency of chilled display (daily)	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Records of chilled display temperature (food temp recorded not air)	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Practices	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
Transporting Food	Documented Procedure – protecting food from contamination, temperature control of potentially hazardous foods during transport below 4oC or above 60oC unless it is to be consumed within 4 hours of preparation.	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Monitoring – monitoring frequency (before and after delivery)	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	Records	£ None £ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below
	*Practices*	£ Below £ Equivalent £ Above Ù State reason if graded above or below

Questions

Q1. What do you think about using a documented Food Control Plan in your premise?
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Q2. What would you consider to be the main benefits of implementing a Food Control Plan? And what value do you place on those benefits?

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Q3. Any other comments?

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