CIEH national guidance for outdoor and mobile catering

Subject: CIEH

The CIEH has updated the mobile catering guide to help promote best practice in food safety at outdoor events.

The draft guidance aims to provide the basis for a commonly agreed and consistent national standard in outdoor catering management.

CIEH Strategic Projects Director Sharon Smith said:

“Catering at outdoor events is a high risk activity. Large numbers of people, frequent use of temporary staff, the temporary nature of the accommodation and high-risk products for sale place specific pressure on food and health and safety management.

“The nature of these events and the uncertainties of the UK weather mean that environmental conditions are an added challenge to traders. Experience at some of the largest outdoor events, such as the Olympics, has emphasised the risks associated with food handling and cross-contamination under these circumstances.”

To be issued as a consultation document, it is hoped that practitioners will use the guide during this year’s event calendar, prior to providing feedback and suggested improvements later in the year.

A workshop will be held in the autumn to capture views and facilitate sharing of experiences and expertise around event catering management, where the CIEH will also wish to know what other support would be helpful to your work with event managers and business operators.

Each event poses different challenges, but the CIEH hope that the guidance will enable clearer planning and preparedness of the environmental health response to outdoor event catering.

Although driven by the CIEH Olympic Working Group, it is anticipated that the document will also be used for other international, regional, and local events.

A separate guidance document dedicated to event organisers and food business operators will also be produced.

To download the document, please click here.

Deadline for responses is Wednesday 30 September 2009. Please send responses to Sharon Smith.