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The government guidelines the hospitality sector needs to follow on Covid-19 prevention measures as operators reopen, provide detailed advice on procedures for sanitising surfaces, social distancing and PPE. However, in order to ensure that high level of security is not undermined, the FPA is reissuing its guidelines to the safe handling of packaging, first published at the beginning of the pandemic when operators not used to takeaway service were introducing it for the first time.
Martin Kersh, Executive Director of the FPA says: “We have been advised by food hygiene experts that the key objective is to reduce ‘touch points’ and that the operator has full knowledge of the provenance of the containers being filled. Single use packaging for foodservice is produced in certified, food-contact compliant manufacturing conditions and untouched by human hands to the point of delivery.”
The guidelines state:
- Packaging should be stored in a secure and in a dry facility that can only be accessed by staff
- It must always be stored above the ground, it must never be in contact with the floor. This includes the box the packaging is placed in
- Employees should read the packaging’s storage instructions on the outer transit packaging and abide by them
- Packaging should be left in the inner, non-porous plastic sleeve until just prior to service
- Packaging should be handled with gloves that are changed regularly and/or handled with clean, washed, sanitised hands
- All packaging should be disposed of responsibly and never littered