Food handling, temperature and hygiene
If you are handling food in your van or stall you must:
- not bring pets inside
- keep wrapping in a clean cupboard
- protect food against coughing or sneezing
- use washable lids for covering food
- cover food
- make sure cooked food is stored above raw food.
Temperatures
It is also important to make sure that you control the temperature of the food.
Food that is likely to go off must be kept at a temperature below eight degrees celsius.
Cooked food should be kept at or above 63 degrees celsius.
You should keep:
- refrigerators between one and five degrees celsius
- freezers are kept at minus 18 degrees celsius.
If you are reheating food make sure you reheat it to at least 75 degrees celsius to make sure that you kill off any bacteria.
Hygiene and training
You have a legal requirement to make sure you provide food handlers with food hygiene training.
We offer level 2 award in food safety in catering. You can find details on our training in food safety page.
When handling food you must:
- wash hands regularly
- wear clean washable protective clothing
- cover any cuts with water proof dressing
- not spit or smoke near open food
You must also clean everything thoroughly after each day of selling food.
We will check one month before you start trading to see whether you are meeting the requirements.
