Food hygiene at outdoor community events
03/30/2023
If your local council, charity or not-for-profit is planning to host its own event, you’ll want to ensure the safety of attendees and staff. That means taking reasonable steps to ensure that food supplied, sold, or provided at your event, such as street-parties, fetes or fundraisers, complies with food laws and is safe to eat. The larger your event, the more challenging this can be. That said, food hygiene risk management for smaller community events is equally important; safety always comes first.
Food Safety Guidance
To help you along your food safety journey, this article summarises the main aspects to consider when planning your community event and you can download our ‘Food Safety Risk Management in Outdoor Community Events’ for full details.
1. Temperature Control
If you are preparing food outdoors, it is essential that the food is always stored at the correct temperature. This is especially important for frozen/chilled food, which must keep to strict temperature controls and be subject to regular monitoring. Failure to follow these controls will increase the risk of food spoilage through bacterial contamination.
2. Design and Structure
All stalls/vehicles or structures designed for the preparation or handling of food must be built to protect food from the risk of contamination. This is challenging in outdoor settings where other environmental factors are in play. If you are preparing food outdoors, it is essential that the food is always stored at the correct temperature.
3. Personal Hygiene
This can also be an issue in outdoor settings where hand-washing facilities aren’t always easily accessible. As a result, there is an increased risk of food contamination and possibly the spread of food-borne illnesses such as gastrointestinal infections or other diseases.
4. Cross-contamination
This is the transfer of organisms or other materials (e.g., allergens in food residues) from contaminated surfaces (including raw foods) to utensils and foods. This is a higher risk in outdoor settings due to other environmental factors including dust, rain, insects, etc. that could come into contact with food.
5. Allergens
Cooking for someone with a food allergy or intolerance can be worrying if you’re not used to doing it. Their safety can’t always be guaranteed in outdoor community settings with multiple food vendors and many sources of food contamination. As a food vendor, if you do not ask about any allergy requirements, this may put someone’s life at risk by serving them food that may trigger an allergic reaction. The consequences can lead to asphyxiation and possibly death.
6. Pests
Pests carry diseases that are capable of cross-contaminating food, making it unfit for consumption. It is more challenging to control these in an outdoor setting but controlling them is an essential component of food safety management.
7. Training and Competency
Event catering is considered a high-risk activity with potential for food poisoning and death in the case of severe allergic reactions. There is, therefore, an increased risk if the food handler is not trained to the relevant food safety standard.
8. Environmental Factors
Event organisers and food vendors should consider the bank holiday weekend weather conditions during the planning phase of event. For example, the risk of cross-contamination and food spoilage is high in hot, summer conditions. Vendors must ensure they have the correct storage capacity for chilled/frozen foods.
9. Other Factors
Consideration must be given to water supplies for food preparation, electricity for refrigeration and lighting, hand-washing stations, and waste management. Food vendors must have access to clean water regardless of setting. This can be a risk in outdoor settings where water supply is not always readily available. The overflow of wastes can attract pests, which in turn increases the risk of cross-contamination of food. Lack of hand-washing stations may also promote cross-contamination and the spread of food-borne illnesses.
Downloadable Food Safety Risk Management Guide
For further guidance on providing food in a village hall or other community setting for volunteers and charity groups, you can download our ‘Food Safety Risk Management in Outdoor Community Events’ Guide. It includes advice on good hygiene practice and health and safety requirements and how to comply with the requirements of the legislation.
More Community Event Planning Resources:
- Zurich Local Community Advisory Service (LCAS)
- Temporary Events Notice (gov.uk)
- Organising a voluntary event: a 'can do' guide (gov.uk)
- Permission to place tables and chairs on the pavement (gov.uk)
Find information about our charities and not-for-profit insurance here.
Zurich Resilience Solutions (ZRS) can offer customers a range of risk management services, such as a liability review, facilitated workshops, document reviews and training. For more details on any of our risk services, visit the ZRS website or email: zrs.enquiries@uk.zurich.com.
