Access and Exclusion

Access to the services provided by The Easter Team are at the sole discretion of the team leader or lead volunteer on duty at the time. Clients that are under the influence of alcohol or drugs may be refused entry, and anyone displaying aggressive behaviour may also be asked to leave.

From time to time, clients may be excluded on a temporary or permanent basis, for example in circumstances such as follows:

· if a client is known to have a reportable and contagious illness

· if it is deemed to be for a clients own protection and or protection of other clients and volunteers

· if a client has been convicted of a serious criminal offense e.g. violent or sex offences

Decisions to exclude on a one off basis will be at the discretion of the team leader for the session, and any exclusion beyond one session will be decided by the trustees.

Where it is possible a meal may be provided for these clients to take away.

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Complaints

[Procedure to be added here]

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Food Hygiene

Those responsible for buying, preparing, cooking and serving foods are to read and follow the guidance below:

 Buying Food:

 When buying the food it should be checked to ensure that it looks right, the wrapping/packaging isn’t damaged and also that it is within the date marking. All pre-packed foods come with a date indication on the label, these are either ‘use-by’ dates or ‘best-before’ dates.

 Use by dates are found on high risk food, which could cause food poisoning, such as cooked meat, fish, dairy products , cook chill foods etc.  By exceeding the ‘use-by’ date, such foods have exceeded the critical time limit within which the product might be considered safe. It is a criminal offence to sell food past its use-by date.

 Best before dates usually appear on canned, dried and frozen products. This is a guideline; in other words foods that have past their ‘best-before’ dates, may not be as good as the manufacturers intended. 

 Transporting food:

 All chilled food should be transported  in clean, insulated containers or cool bags if needed. The journey time to the hall (or home if purchased before the day of use) should take as little time as possible, less than an hour.  

 Likewise, all hot food should be transferred as quickly as possible in insulated wrappers or containers or wrapped in foil to ensure that the temperature remains above 63°C

 If food is stored/prepared at home then it must be transported as above, as quickly as possible. i.e. in well- covered, clean containers and using cool bags/boxes if needed.  

 Storing Food Safely:

 When you arrive at the hall, chilled foods should be stored in the refrigerator or a cool box until used (unless prepared etc. within an hour).

 If purchasing foods and storing them at home before taking them to the hall, the chilled and frozen foods should be stored in your fridge/freezer as appropriate. 

 Check the temperature of the fridge (at the hall or home) to make sure it is stored below 8°C. Keep raw meat below ready to eat foods in the fridge. Make sure all foods are covered to help prevent bacteria spreading from raw foods to ready to eat foods.

 The fridge must be kept clean and tidy and you must always make sure that all food is within its date markings.

 Any part used tins of food should be decanted into a suitable container and covered.

 Never put any hot or warm food into the fridge, this will increase the temperature and cause condensation, making the fridge an ideal place for bacteria to grow.

 If defrosting food prior to cooking, make sure that it is defrosted in the fridge or cool box for as long as is necessary.  It should be covered and stored at the bottom of the fridge to prevent contamination of other foods. Make sure that the food is fully defrosted prior to cooking.

 Avoiding Cross Contamination:

 Cross contamination is one of the most common causes of food poisoning. It happens when harmful bacterial are spread onto food from other food, worktops, hands, equipment or utensils.  These harmful bacteria often come from raw meat, poultry and eggs. Other sources of bacteria include people, pests, pets, soil on vegetables and waste bins.  Below are some points to follow to avoid contamination:

  • Always cover food.

  • Wash your hands at appropriate times (see personal hygiene)

  • Make sure that you store food correctly – always store raw meat at the bottom of the fridge and cooked/ready to eat foods above.

  • Handle foods as little as possible.

  • Use disposable dishcloths if possible and change them regularly. If using reusable cloths, ensure they are laundered after each day – on a very hot wash cycle.

  • Preferably use disposable towel to dry up. If using tea cloths, ensure they are changed regularly throughout the day and laundered on a very hot wash cycle.

  • Ensure that all kitchen utensils are properly cleaned and disinfected after each use. Use colour coded equipment such as chopping boards and knifes for use on specific foods.

  • Clean and disinfect all hand contact surfaces regularly. 

  • Never allow pets into the kitchen when preparing foods.

  • ·Wipe down all work surfaces in the kitchen with antibacterial spray  (which should be BS EN 1276 or 13697 compliant – list of approved ones can be found here http://www.disinfectant-info.co.uk/ ) and disposable paper towel before you start to prepare and/or serve the food.

 Food also needs protecting from chemical contamination, i.e. chemicals getting into foods.  Store all cleaning products in a cupboard away from food.  When you are cleaning, ensure all food has been put away.

 Physical contamination is when objects get into food that shouldn’t be there, such as glass, hair, fingernails and jewellery – ensure that all food is covered to prevent anything from falling into the food (also see personal hygiene).

 Personal Hygiene:

 Good personal hygiene must be maintained to help prevent bacteria from spreading to food.  The following rules are good practice and must be followed:

  •  Avoid touching your face or nose, or coughing and sneezing over food.

  • deally you should not wear jewellery when preparing food except a plain wedding band. Watches and jewellery can collect and spread dirt and harmful bacteria and they can fall into food.

  • Fingernails should be kept clean and short, with no nail varnish. False finger nails should be avoided.  

  • Cuts and sores should be completely covered with a waterproof dressing.

  • Hair should be clean and worn tied back if long.

  • Clean aprons must be worn. Change aprons after preparing raw foods.

  • Do not prepare any food if you have diarrhoea and/or vomiting as people suffering from these symptoms often carry harmful bacterial on their hands and can spread them onto food and the equipment they touch.  Tell the club if you are ill and find a replacement for your cooking duties. Do not prepare any food until you have been symptomless for at least 48 hours.

 Harmful bacteria can spread very easily from hands to food, work surfaces and equipment around the kitchen. You should always wash your hands properly before preparing food or touching ready to eat foods.  

You must always wash your hands after:

  •  Visiting the toilet

  • Touching raw meats/poultry/eggs

  • Emptying bins

  • Cleaning

  • Touching a cut or changing a dressing

  • After blowing your nose, coughing into the hand, touching your hair or face etc.

  • After smoking

  • After handling rubbish and waste food

 You must always wash your hands before:

  •  Starting work in the kitchen

  • Handling food

 Cooking and cooling:

 Proper cooking kills food poisoning bacteria such as Salmonella, Ecoli 0157, Listeria, Campylobacter etc.  It is important that foods are cooked thoroughly and the target temperature is achieved throughout. Undercooking will enable bacteria to survive and cause illness. 

 Do not assume food is thoroughly cooked - you must actively check – if food is not cooked thoroughly, it is likely to be unsafe.  The core (centre) or the thickest part of the food should reach a temperature of at least 70°C for at least 2 minutes or 75°C for 30 seconds.  

 The best method of checking food temperatures is by using a probe thermometer – which must be properly cleaned and disinfected before each use.   If the temperature is not achieved – cook it further until the temperature is achieved.   Please record the temperature check of hot foods on the supervisor’s checklist.

 When the food is cooked it should be eaten as soon as possible, however it may be stored for a short period of time prior to eating. i.e. in the oven or a hot cupboard etc. until it is served.  If stored for longer than 2 hours, the temperature must be checked to ensure it has been kept at a temperature of at least 63°C.

 Wherever possible do not cook, cool, store and re-heat food.  Cook and serve is always the safest method because if food is not re-heated thoroughly, bacteria can survive and then multiply. If you do need to cook and reheat, you must ensure that after initial cooking, the food is cooled quickly as possible and always within 90 minutes and then stored in the fridge.   When you re-heat food, you must ensure it reaches a core temperature of at least 75°C for 30 seconds.

 If there is any foods leftover, these should be disposed of.  It should not be given to people to take home.

 Cleaning:

 It is essential to keep the kitchen and equipment clean to get rid of harmful bacteria and stop them spreading. It is important to clean everything in a kitchen, but particular attention should be paid to food and hand contact surfaces, for example:

  •  Chopping boards

  • Taps

  • Switches

  • Knives and utensils

  • Fridge door handles

  • Work surfaces

 You must always make sure that all food equipment is cleaned and disinfected before use and in-between different tasks and when handling different types of food, especially raw food.  You can do this by using a chemical or using a dishwasher.

 To clean and disinfect work surfaces you will need a clean cloth, hot water, detergent and a food safe disinfectant or sanitiser/antibacterial spray. This will remove any dirt and grease and also disinfect, which means that bacteria will be reduced to safe levels.  To wipe down surfaces after cleaning them, use disposable paper towels.

 Clear and clean as you go:

  •  Clear away any used equipment that is no longer required, ensure it is cleaned and in good condition

  • Clear away any food as soon as possible

  • Clean work surfaces thoroughly after each use

  • If you make a mess then clean it up immediately

  • Keep the kitchen in a tidy condition and remove any unnecessary clutter

  • Always remember to empty the bin regularly and at the end of the day

 Pest Control 

 At the start of each session, check the kitchen for any signs of pests.  If using your home to store or prepare foods, you must ensure it is pest free.  If you see a problem in the kitchen – report it. 

 Maintenance

 Report any kitchen maintenance issues.

 On the Day of event:

 At any service, you must ensure you carry out the opening and closing checks:

 The checklist must be completed for each service.

All existing and any new volunteers responsible for purchase, preparation, cooking and service of food must receive a copy of this document for training purposes.  

 Every Volunteer sign a copy of the training checklist to demonstrate they have read and understood the managing food safely procedures.  ET will retain each signed copy for their records. 

 Opening and Closing Checks:

Opening Checks:

You should do these checks at the beginning of each event. 

  • Food preparation surfaces, equipment and utensils are in a clean condition. If not, they are cleaned and disinfected.

  • The temperature of the fridge has been checked to ensure below 8°C.

  • Other equipment  (e.g. oven, till) is working properly

  • Food handlers are fit for work and wearing clean aprons/overalls

  • There are plenty of  hand washing  and cleaning materials (soap, detergent/disinfectant/sanitizer, cloths, tea towels, paper towel)

  • Chairs are up righted and tables wiped down

Closing Checks:

You should do these checks at the end of each event. 

  • No food is left out.

  • Kitchen is tidy

  • Kitchen, food preparation surfaces equipment, utensils are clean and disinfected

  • Waste has been removed from kitchen and taken to bins

  • Floors have been mopped

  • Tables and chairs have been cleaned

  • Cleaning equipment put away

  • Electrical equipment switched off

  • Lights switched off

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Health & Personal Hygiene

Volunteers should not attend the Saturday meal if they have experienced diarrhoeaorvomiting within 48hrs of the session.

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Personal property

You are solely responsible for the safety of your personal possessions on the organisation premises and should ensure that your personal possessions are kept on your person at all times. Avoid bringingitems of value to the session, as The Easter Team cannot take responsibility for any losses. If you find an item of lost property on the premises, you are required to inform the team leader immediately.

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Health & Safety

Overall responsibility for Health & Safety is vested in the Trustees of the Charity. This responsibility is delegated to the Team Leaders of each session and the office support staff who are nominated as Health and Safety representatives.

All volunteers have a responsibility for ensuring that reasonable precautions are taken to avoid accidents and injury to themselves and others or damage to equipment or premises.

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Insurance

The Easter Team will ensure that volunteers are covered for insurance purposes in respect of personal injury. The Easter Team will also ensure that volunteers are provided with professional and public liability insurance, a copy of the public liability insurance certificate can be obtained from the Treasurer. Anyone wishing to make a claim under this insurance should contact the Treasurer to seek advice. The insurance will not cover unauthorised actions.

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Reporting of accidents, incidents and near misses

Any accidents or incidents to the session Team Leader who will fill in the incident report form, which is held by the team leader. A first aid kit is provided by St Barnabas. Volunteers should advise the team leader if items are used so that the kit can be re-stocked accordingly.

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Confidentiality

From time to time you may be party to confidential information as a volunteer of The Easter Team. It is your responsibility to ensure that confidentiality is maintained and the circumstances are not discussed or disclosed to anyone outside of the team.

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Safeguarding

The Easter Team is committed to protecting service users against all forms of abuse. Everyone has a responsibility towards clients to ensure that they are protected from abuse.

Any concerns should always be reported to the team leader/volunteer in charge immediately and in confidence. In instances where it is believed that clients or their children have been subjected to abuse, then the relevant authorities will be notified, including Adults or Childrens Social Care or the police. And incident form should always be filled out promptly and sent to the trustee with responsibility for safeguarding.

If, following full investigation of the circumstances, the trustees determines that the perpetrator should be excluded from using the service, or removed from volunteering, the perpetrator's details will be referred to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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Public Interest Disclosure (‘Whistleblowing’)

We constantly strives to safeguard and act in the interest of the public and our volunteers. It is important that any suspected fraud, misconduct or wrongdoing is reported and properly addressed.In the first instance, volunteers should raise any concerns with one of the Trustees. Any matter raised will be investigated promptly and confidentially. The outcome of the investigation, as well as any necessary remedial action to be taken, will be confirmed to the individual who has raised the issue and an explanation of why no action has been taken, if that is the outcome. Iftheyare dissatisfied with this response, theyshould raise theirconcerns in writing directly with the chair of the Trustees.

If a volunteerraisesany concern, the Easter Team is committed to ensuring that you are protected from victimisation, harassment or less favourable treatment.

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