Health Department Regulations For Your Catering Business

Health Department Regulations For Your Catering Business

Before starting a catering business, you must have many licenses and certifications, and must comply with Ministry of Health regulations. All you have to do is contact your local  health department for regulations, certifications, licenses, and insurance information specific to your area. Inspection of the area to be used for the catering business needs to be confirmed by the health office.

All employees need to know clearly about food service sanitation, especially in terms of storage of ready-to-eat food or ready-to-eat food. And this knowledge influenced the health department's decision to approve the kitchen. Certain foods always have special rules and therefore if the kitchen is going to prepare certain types of food then these exact rules must be known by the workers.

There is a legal obligation to provide information and training on health and safety to all employees who need it, including full time staff, new recruits and part-timers. Slips, trips and falls give rise to a third of all reported accidents in catering premises. Consider floor cleaning, procedures to clean up spillages, and appropriate footwear. These will be inspected by the health department officers as to what steps are taken to prevent such accidents. 

All precautions are therefore a necessity. It is vital to show to the officers that you are taking all necessary measures to keep your employees as well as your guests safe from all kinds of accidents including food- borne illness or fire or even a slip. Consider what causes burns and scalds. The safe use of oven cloths is to be done by keeping them dry and in good condition. Many cleaning agents can cause bad burns and eyes are particularly at risk.

You ought to clearly remind your employees that while at work they have a legal duty to take reasonable care of the health and safety of themselves, their colleagues and others with whom they come in contact as well their guests and also they ought to co-operate with their employer in complying with health and safety requirements.

The health department will check that all the equipments are in safe working order and are being correctly used, cleaned, maintained and stored and that the staff is trained in the correct use and cleaning of equipment before they are allowed to use it.

The procedures regarding the food items are to be inspected like whether the products are being correctly handled and safe procedures are followed while lifting and handling, cleaning, including proper isolation of equipment, safe use of chemicals; and use of protective clothing and equipment such as gloves and goggles if required.

Proper hygiene is to be maintained in the kitchen. When the place is inspected and the main chef is probably interviewed the health department will check the knowledge on proper hygiene before approving the kitchen. These are the most important facts to remember in order to get the approval of the state or local health department.

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