The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has reminded food businesses of the need for good hygiene practices this summer in the aftermath of a suspected food poisoning incident at Truck Festival last weekend.
Organisers of the event in Oxfordshire removed a food vendor after attendees reported gastrointestinal symptoms and local Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) are investigating.
The incident serves as a reminder for food businesses to be vigilant when attending such outdoor events this summer, especially when hot temperatures can impact fridge operations, and infections can be spread quickly with large numbers of customers in a short space of time.
Hannah Ward, a member of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health who specialises in festival and mobile catering inspections, said:Â “While it would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause of this incident while investigations are ongoing, cases such as this highlight the critical importance of maintaining the highest standards of food hygiene and temperature control at festivals and other large-scale events.
“Food businesses operating at temporary events have the same legal responsibilities as any other food business, to place safe food on the market, however they must do so in variable and challenging conditions. Responsibilities include ensuring food is sourced from reputable suppliers, stored at the correct temperatures, and handled by appropriately trained staff.
“Festival environments can present additional challenges, including hot weather, temporary kitchen facilities, high customer volumes and limited storage and operational space. Food operators must ensure they have suitable systems in place to manage these risks and that food safety procedures are rigorously followed throughout the event.”
She also highlighted the responsibility of event organisers to provide site facilities to vendors such as water supply, waste, power and suitable camping facilities, adding that the delay of these facilities has a knock-on effect to the food business’ safe operation and service delivery.
Advice for food businesses
CIEH is reminding food businesses trading at festivals and outdoor events to:
- Maintain effective food safety management procedures.
- Keep high-risk foods chilled below 8 degrees (legal requirement)
- Prevent cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods.
- Ensure staff have appropriate food hygiene training and understand safe food handling practices.
- Provide adequate handwashing facilities and ensure strict personal hygiene standards.
- Keep detailed records of food suppliers, temperature monitoring and cleaning procedures.
- Have procedures in place to respond quickly to any reports of illness and cooperate fully with regulatory authorities.
Hannah added: “The vast majority of food businesses operating at festivals work extremely hard to provide safe, high-quality food, and it is not common for event-goers to experience problems. However, maintaining robust food safety standards is essential to protect public health, consumer confidence and maintain positive PR for the event industry.”
More advice and guidance can be found on the Food Standards Agency (FSA) website:Â https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/food-standards-agency
Recent Posts
- JJ Foodservice strengthens fleet with 20 new multi-temperature delivery vehicles
- Papa’s moves south with opening in Kent
- Food businesses urged to choose British eggs following salmonella outbreak
- Drywite Young Fish Frier serves up 9,000 portions of fish and chips in one shift
- Fast food traffic returned to growth in June, led by chicken
