How to manage food waste in your hospitality business.

This article has been written by Pilla Founder, Liam Jones, click to email Liam directly, he reads every email.

Refuse and food waste must be handled and disposed of appropriately and frequently.

Extra vigilance must be taken to ensure that food does not become cross contaminated by waste products.

The buildup of kitchen waste both inside the building but also external waste areas will attract pests as a ready source of available food.

Staff

After waste handling, staff must wash hands on re-entering the kitchen before handling any food, equipment, utensils or touching work surfaces.

Condition of waste bins

Internal waste bins must be in good condition and must be emptied and cleaned at the end of the day, both internally and externally.

Waste bins must be emptied on a regular basis and not allowed to overflow, they should have pedal operated lids or no lids.

Waste bin liners

Waste bins must be used with heavy duty waste bin liners at all times, which must be tied/secured before disposal into external waste bins.

Cleanliness of external waste area / waste bin store

External waste areas must be maintained and kept clean to avoid problems with pests.

Waste bins must be in good condition with lids that close properly, these should be kept closed at all times and not allowed to overflow.

Waste must not be stored on the ground.

External waste areas must be hosed/washed down regularly to avoid food residues building up on the ground surfaces.

Food handlers

Food handlers removing waste from the building should remove aprons before leaving the food room, then reapply after re-entering.

Hands must be washed on re-entry to the food room or food storage areas.

Contractor frequency of removal

Ensure that waste contractors are removing waste as per the contract.

If waste bins are found to be over-flowing, then consideration should be given to amending the contract to ensure more frequent visits and / or increasing the number of waste bins.

Kitchen wastage records

The kitchen wastage record sheet is used to record any losses of foods in the kitchen due to accidents/incidents and carries no financial value for the kitchen GP. It provides the head chef with a means of tracking the loss of food products and can potentially highlight training needs of staff.