Hygiene

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Harmonising Hygiene

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The effectiveness of a hotel or restaurants hygiene practice can mean the difference between success, failure, and in certain circumstances, closure. Stephen Wynne-Jones examines the best ways for hospitality businesses to develop an effective hygiene structure.

n life, certain things should come as standard. Cleanliness, particularly in businesses that serve the general public, is one of those things. Many Irish hospitality businesses have received and continue to receive a rap on the knuckles over their hygiene practices, especially during the Christmas season, when MRSA and superbugs inevitably come under the media spotlight. Weve all seen things wed rather not have in hotels and restaurants over the years dirty floors, insects, mice but even that old joke about a fly in my soup just doesnt cut it these days. More so than ever before, hygiene practice makes business sense, as evidenced by the falling numbers of businesses suffering enforcement orders from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). At the time of going to press, 24 businesses had been hit by FSAI closure orders this year, which should mean the year-end figure will be similar to that of last year, when 27 closure orders were served. The total number of enforcement orders, again at the time of going to press, was just 31, meaning it is unlikely to top last years figure of 43, and likely to fall far
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short of the 62 enforcement orders issued by the Authority in 2004. A cause for celebration? Dont be too hasty. Of the 45,000 food businesses operating in Ireland, the majority comply with food safety legislation," says Dr John OBrien, Chief Executive of the FSAI. "However, it is disappointing that a small number of food businesses continue to ignore their legal responsibility for food safety and hygiene and subsequently bring adverse publicity on an entire sector. Our overriding aim is to see 100 percent compliance with food safety regulations and we will not hesitate to exercise the full rigors of the law to achieve this. The bottom line is that consumers need to be confident the food they are eating is safe and that industry is adhering to best practices and we are committed to achieving this. While the number of Irish food businesses incurring the wrath of the FSAI may be decreasing, operators still need to remain vigilant. In the UK, the level of contamination in restaurants, especially takeaways, has reached alarming levels. According to a survey, published in July, by the British Food Standards Agency, 848 out of 5,000 takeaway outlets surveyed were

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HYGIENE CHECKLIST
A few quick and easy ways to ensure optimum food hygiene include: Use colour-coded chopping boards for different types of food, especially for keeping raw and ready to eat foods apart Use colour-coded knives or a two knife system for different foodstuffs Wash hands regularly, using hot water and a suitable soap product or hand sanitiser Try to use J-cloths or paper towels instead of dishcloths for cleaning surfaces, and throw away after use Clean out fridges and dishwashers using specialised sanitisers Make sure all kitchen equipment carries the CE mark found to be at high risk of causing problems to public health, while one in eight of the 992 restaurants and cafs in the survey were found to have significant lapses in food regulations. Such reports do little to boost public confidence in the food they are eating in restaurants, although recent EU regulations, requiring a number of basic HAACP principles to be enforced in all food businesses, should have a lasting effect on both sides of the Irish Sea. In 2004, EU regulation 852/2004 made it imperative that anyone working in food businesses put into place a permanent system based on HAACP principles. At the start of this year, this was bundled in with other directives to create Hygiene Package legislation, in a move that was seen as a milestone for food safety in the EU. Practical solutions are being put forth by the likes of Gerard Heffernan of GH Enterprises, who has developed an all in one drying and polishing device for cutlery for hotels and restaurants. Such systems reduce the chances of harmful bacteria remaining on cutlery bound for tables the age-old method of cloth cleaning runs the risk of contaminating the whole batch, especially if the cloth is wet or has been used elsewhere in the kitchen. Elsewhere, high-tech disposal systems reduce cross-contamination and also ease the workload for busy hotels and restaurants. Enviro-pak (www.enviropakireland.com), based outside Stradbally, Co. Laois, provide a wide range of food waste disposal units, bin presses, bottle crushers and baling machines for cardboards and plastics. Disposing of food using their systems not only reduces the amount of waste that goes into refuse bins, with food ground into a pulp and simply washed away. Food macerators can take the open bins out of kitchens; waste food is macerated and sent for composting or can be sent straight to the sewer, says Enda Singleton, managing director of EnviroPak. Then you have the bottle crushers that eliminate the need for sorting glass and all the work that goes along with it; you can get a 5:1 reduction on glass in your bins. With the likes of the bin packer, youre getting the equivalent of three bins into one - so if a wheelie bin costs 40 to empty, thats an 80 saving right away. Using these systems not only cut down on the amount of waste, but can save hours worth of manpower. You have a situation where you can have payback on those machines in 20 weeks or less. Prices start at 2,600 for the smallest compactor, up to 45,000 to 50,000 for the largest. Of course, its not just food-based businesses that need to stand up and take note. Regular auditing is the most practical way to guarantee optimum hygiene levels. The effectiveness of an industry-wide hygiene auditing programme is showcased every year by the National Quality and Excellence Awards, a yearly event hosted by the Excellence Ireland Quality Association (EIQA), better known as the organisation responsible for the Q-mark. This year, over 3,000 businesses and organisations entered the competition, which includes special sections for the hotel, restaurant and catering sectors. According to Paul OGrady, managing director of EIQA, Hygiene is now recognized as a major factor in a business success; one in three people admit they would leave an establishment and go somewhere else based on poor hygiene alone. Maybe its talk of MRSA and the health service that has brought it to the publics attention. But people in general are more aware of hygiene factors. In the hospitality industry, its phenomenal the level of interest in optimising businesses around hygiene legislation, whether that applies to dirty shower heads, or food, or anything really. EIQA perform hygiene audits in approximately 3,500 businesses every year; following this up with a report, delivered to each business, which outlines the top ten things they should do if they want to get the greatest benefit from a hygiene perspective. This serves as a basis for a continuous improvement programme, and the EIQA has over a quarter of a centurys worth of experience working with a number of high-profile foodservice companies, including Musgrave. At this years gala event, which took place on the 16th October, Kellys Resort Hotel

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Above: Paul OGrady, Managing Director of the Excellence Ireland Quality Association (EIQA), at the 2006 National Quality and Excellence Awards, held on 16th October

came out on top in the hotels category an establishment, notes OGrady, that is totally committed to the whole area of quality not just quality around hygiene, but also organisational quality and structural quality. Supermacs in Moate won the restaurant category, while the catering team at Midlands Prison took home the catering award. One of the benefits of getting involved with us is that we would produce benchmarking data on a national basis, says OGrady, as well as looking at common areas for improvement that are coming out. We try and help organisations, by giving them a perspective on the common type of things, such as traceability records. We see ourselves as a conduit of information in that were doing so many audits and no-one else is doing anything like it. We can pick up on trends quicker than anyone else. The impact of the EIQA approach is now being felt in other industries as well; at the start of November, a new system of auditing hygiene in 52 hospitals around the country was announced, under new national standards that have been drawn up by the Irish Health Service Accreditation Board. Of course, countless businesses, such as those named and shamed by the FSAI every year, fall short when implementing hygiene practices, and despite the implementation of legislation, even at an EU level there still remains certain misunderstandings at ground level. The same easily preventable faults are generally to blame, even though public understanding is getting better for example, 72 percent of Irish people with food hygiene concerns claim to have stopped buying in particular shops as a result of their concern about the level of hygiene in those establishments. It is imperative that hospitality businesses place hygiene at the top of their agenda, not only to satisfy customer demand, but also to escape closure and/or possible prosecution. A
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