Advice for community groups, organisations and volunteer networks
In towns and villages across Scotland, communities are fighting COVID 19. These pages provide advice on how to virus proof the fantastic things you are doing and reduce the risk of indirect spread. Please read them carefully if you are starting to provide support or reviewing what you are doing already.
Preparing, handling and delivering food
Last updated: 13th September 2021
There isn’t any current evidence to suggest that food is a source of transmission of the virus however it is still essential to comply with good hygiene practice when preparing and handling food. This section gives you some advice on how you can do this safely.
If you, your organisation or group are continuing to provide food as part of an emergency response, or have resumed regular services that involve providing food, such as a community cafe, you need to:
comply with existing food safety and hygiene guidance and standards.
ensure that you, staff and volunteers understand how coronavirus is spread and have access to the latest guidance from our public health agencies and Government.
provide suitable facilities to support effective hand hygiene.
implement the recommended social/physical distancing and facial coverings regulations in all parts of the premises, including food preparation areas.
ensure that cleaning and disinfection is carried out in line with the latest guidance from our public health agencies and Government.
If you, your organisation or group cannot meet the above criteria you should not supply, prepare or deliver food yourself. We recommend that you contact your local Third Sector Interface or Volunteer Centre and ask about partnering with an established community or commercial food initiative already undertaking this work.
Food safety and hygiene standards
It is essential that you comply with current food safety and hygiene standards when you prepare and handle food. Food should only be prepared by individuals, organisations and groups who are suitably trained and experienced and who do it routinely as part of services they already provide.
Dumfries and Galloway Council Environmental Health Team produced this very helpful guide ‘Food Safety Advice for Community, Third Sector and Voluntary Groups’. Whilst it was written to support early emergency responses to the Covid-19 crisis, it is still a very useful resource, however please read it in conjunction with the latest Scottish government guidance on issues such as local protection levels, Test and Protect compliance, physical distancing and facial coverings.
Food Standards Scotland Guidance for Food Business Operators and Their Employees is an extremely useful source of advice, much of which applies equally in a community food setting. You can read this guidance here.
IAwareness raising and sharing information
You should make sure that you, your organisation or group has access to the latest information from our public health agencies and Government on coronavirus, and in particular how to prevent it from spreading. You should:
make sure you know what the symptoms of Covid-19 are and what to do if you or anyone in your household has symptoms.
organise a daily ‘team talk’ to go over key messages including hand washing and social/physical distancing.
make arrangements for what to do if someone becomes unwell whilst on the premises.
reinforce key messages by displaying posters throughout the premises and especially in areas where food is prepared. NHS Inform provide posters and other communication materials around food preparation.
Hand hygiene
Thorough and frequent hand hygiene is critical to stop the spread of coronavirus. You, your organisation or group should do whatever you can to reinforce this message at all times. There is currently no evidence that food is a source of transmission of the virus but there are still many opportunities for cross contamination and transmission wherever people share a physical space, work alongside each other or share equipment and materials.
If you are involved in food preparation or handling then you need to be familiar with effective hand washing techniques. Our section on Effective hand hygiene offers advice on how you, your organisation or group should do whatever you can to reinforce this message at all times.
Remember: thorough and frequent hand washing is critical to stopping the spread of coronavirus.
Social/physical distancing
Social/physical distancing measures are in place to reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading through social interaction. You must keep at the current recommended social/physical distance between you and anyone else who is not a member of your immediate household. If you, your organisation or group are preparing or handling food as part of an emergency community response to Covid-19 you need to make sure these measures are in place. The section on Social/Physical Distancing offers advice on how you, your organisation or group can apply social/physical distancing when preparing food.
Cleaning and disinfection
You will no doubt have robust procedures in place for cleaning and disinfection already, as this is essential for any food preparation and handling activity. Coronavirus is currently thought to be able to live on some surfaces for up to 72 hours, so additional, well established measures should be in place to reduce the risk of cross contamination and infection. You should:
Identify all key touch points within the premises including but not limited to; door handles, grab rails, touch or key-pads, vending machines, table tops, chair backs and arms, computers, phones and all shared surfaces and equipment, including utensils within food preparation areas.
Introduce a schedule to ensure cleaning and disinfection of these surfaces, equipment and materials every 2 hours.
How to clean and disinfect surfaces and equipment effectively:
Wipe hard surfaces with warm, soapy water using a disposable cloth.
Disinfect the surfaces using the cleaning products you would normally use, following the manufacturer instructions. Check that the cleaning products bear the EN 14476:2013 standard. If you are unsure you should contact the manufacturer. Pay attention to the recommended contact time as wiping the product off too early could make it less effective.
If you don’t have access to specific cleaning products you can use or make a 0.1% diluted bleach solution, provided it is refreshed every 24 hours to ensure it is effective.
Use gloves and aprons if using chemical or bleach solutions, as per the manufacturer instructions.
Some surfaces or equipment should not be cleaned with chemical or bleach solutions including keyboards, phones or electronic devices - use disinfectant or alcohol wipes (70%) instead.
Wash cooking utensils in warm soapy water using the cleaning products you normally use, dry using paper towels and store as normal.
Disposable cloths, paper towels, gloves and aprons should be double bagged and securely stored for 72 hours, if possible and practical, then disposed of along with regular waste, after cleaning has been completed.
Remember: effective cleaning and disinfection is critical to stopping the spread of coronavirus.
A Word About Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Health Protection Scotland recommends that the use of additional PPE should only be needed ‘wherever there is a higher level of contamination risk through respiratory secretions from potentially infected individuals’. Respiratory secretions in this situation means anything that could spread the virus in droplets from the nose or mouth such as; heavy breathing, coughing, sneezing or from bodily fluids such as saliva.
This is unlikely to happen at any food production setting, as anyone with symptoms will be self-isolating in line with the latest Government guidance. Therefore additional PPE, over and above what you would normally use as part of food preparation and handling procedures, should not be required.
Checklist for you, your organisation or group
Are you up to date with the latest Scottish and UK Government guidance on coronavirus and the symptoms of Covid-19?
Are you aware of the need to prevent the spread of coronavirus and do you have access to information on how to do this?
Are there facilities to ensure robust hand hygiene including; access to hot water, soap, paper towels and hand sanitizer within the food preparation and communal areas?
Are you able to put in place the required social/physical distancing measures within the food preparation area and communal areas?
Are you limiting the number of visitors to the premises and where this is necessary, ensuring the required social/physical distancing measures are met?
Are you confident that you are taking every precaution to prevent the spread of coronavirus, based on the most up to date Scottish and UK Government guidance?
