Catering at Home Safely

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Last revised: 6 October 2008

A photo of meals of plates

Many of us use our own kitchen occasionally to prepare food for larger-than-usual numbers of people, e.g. for parties, fund-raising functions and even for wedding receptions.
The average home kitchen is not really designed or equipped for this kind of use so great care needs to be taken with cooking, storing, transporting and serving food for these occasions.
However it should be noted that domestic kitchen do not usually have to undergo major re-design or re-fitting in order to comply with current legislation.
Advice on structural requirements can be found in our guidance pages for new food businesses and B&Bs.

This simple factsheet covers the basic rules you should follow to avoid the risk of illness from food prepared in your kitchen.

If you run a catering business from home you must register with the local authority and comply with Food Hygiene Regulations.

Registration with us is free. Visit our food registration page.

If you would like further advice, please contact the Environmental Health and Protection Services Department.
Please telephone us on 01380 724 911 or email kennet@kennet.gov.uk

Before you start

  • Thoroughly clean all utensils, equipment and working surfaces before and after food preparation

  • Use a food safe anti-bacterial cleaner after thoroughly cleaning food contact surfaces and all other work surfaces in the kitchen, using hot water and a detergent to remove any grease and dirt.

  • Don’t allow pets into the food preparation room whilst preparing food or onto worktops or in contact with food remember to always wash your hands thoroughly after touching a pet or their belongings.

  • Wash Your Hands before preparing food and after using the toilet or handling raw food or rubbish, smoking or eating.

  • Keep Raw and Cooked foods apart to prevent cross contamination

  • Use separate utensils, cutting boards and worktops or clean thoroughly after use with raw food

  • Place cooked food above raw food in the fridge

  • Avoid recipes that use uncooked or lightly cooked eggs, examples dishes are:

- Mousses, soufflés and uncooked cheesecake
- Other desserts and home-made ice cream
- Home-made mayonnaise and other sauces

never use raw egg as a binder for sandwich fillings

Shopping

  • Avoid buying the ingredients too far in advance remember that chilled and frozen foods that you buy must be correctly stored until they are used.

  • Ensure that the food you buy is in the best condition possible, check the Best Before and / or Use By dates and condition of the packaging.

  • Keep any receipts or delivery notes until at least 7 days after the event so that you are able to account for where and when the food came into your possession.

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Refrigeration

Refrigeration has in the past caused problems for home caterers as they rarely have sufficient space available in their domestic arrangement, planning before the event is essential to ensure there is sufficient space for chilled food storage. Cool boxes are only a short term answer and should not be relied on for long periods of time.

  • Keep fridges and freezers clean and regularly defrosted; check operating temperatures daily:

- Fridges 5ºC or less
- Freezers -18ºC or below
- Don’t overload you fridge; let hot food cool for not more than 1½ hours before putting it into the fridge.

  • Food cooked in large batches can be cooled quicker by de-canting into smaller portions or into containers that have a larger surface area.

  • Avoid the use of large joints of meat as they will take much longer to cool down.

Check that you have enough fridge space for the food you are making

Cooking

  • Cook food thoroughly

  • The centre must be piping hot if you chose to use a temperature probe ensure you also use antibacterial probe wipes to prevent cross contamination

  • Never re-heat food more than once

  • Follow microwave cooking instructions carefully; remember the ‘standing time’ after cooking

Transportation

  • Transport food carefully

  • Always wrapped or covered

  • Keep food cool; use insulated boxes

Never leave food in a car or boot in hot weather

Serving food

  • Hot food must be really hot

  • Cold food must be kept cool; don’t set up the buffet too long before the function

  • Any food left after 4 hours out of the fridge should be thrown away

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BACKGROUND NOTES

The main objective of the advice given in this Factsheet is to prevent food poisoning.
Bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter (which is now the commonest cause of
Food poisoning in the UK) may be present in raw meat/poultry and fresh eggs.
Others, including Bacillus cereus, clostridium perfringens and E.Coli 0157 can be found in raw vegetables, salads and shellfish.
Many of these can multiply in food at normal room temperatures and some are able to resist cooking.

To minimise the risk of food poisoning avoid ‘cross-contamination’; always cook food thoroughly and, if it is not to be eaten straightaway, either keep it hot or cool it quickly and store under refrigeration.
Remember that some bacteria can also be carried on your skin and in the mouth, nose and throat. Wash hands thoroughly before handling food.

In you have any queries or questions regarding this fact sheet please contact the food team at Kennet District Council, Environmental Health and Protection Services Department on 01380 724911 or email us at kennet@kennet.gov.uk

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