Introduction Providing safe and nutritious food and water to employees inrnremote areas is not without challenge, particularly in a largernproject where the number of employees is increasing rapidlyrnand the caterer is expected to cope. The control of cateringrncontracts can become more fragmented with the risk of illnessrnfrom food and water hazards exponentially increased.rnTo manage this, a 'food safety specialist' was brought in tornjoin the regional health team to identify essential issues andrnproduce a methodology and strategy based on minimumrnacceptable standards in food hygiene and cateringrnmanagement.rnA 3 stage process was designed:rn1. Introducing 'effective' hygiene inspections andrnaction trackingrn2. Equipment and infrastructure improvementsrn3. Food hygiene training and awareness for all levels,rnaccredited by a professional body in the UK.rnThe food safety specialist and his team worked in partnershiprnwith caterers providing opportunities to support them andrnengender better communication between them, contractsrnmanagers and other key people.rnTools were produced to assist caterers, contract managers andrnhealth and safety teams inspecting facilities. These will berndemonstrated in this paper including a risk matrix of cateringrnestablishments in a business or project detailing the significantrnissues, confidence levels and a colour coded and percentagernranking.rnThe assurance path consisted of setting the plan, prioritisingrnissues and continually visiting catering establishments,rnproducing reports and feedback and finally re-introducingrnaudits when all actions were closed out. Contract reviews,rndeliverable Key Performance Indicators (KPI's, within arnContractor Control Plan) and the centralisation of cateringrncontracts and plans have proven beneficial wherernimplemented.rnFindings and progress – there were common issues acrossrnthe project which mainly fell into three areas; inadequaternfacilities, temperature control/disinfection and hand washing.rnProgress has been substantial over time, with a marked declinernin occupational food related illness. There is much morerntransparent communication between all parties. Recognitionrnfrom senior leaders and their support for resolving issuesrnincluding the infrastructure of facilities has aided this initiativernsubstantially.rnMany individuals have now successfully been through therntraining programme. Laboratory accreditation is now beingrnintroduced for food and water sampling.rnConclusionrnThis strategy can be easily replicated and the benefits sharedrnhowever there is always a need to review and providerncontinual improvement.
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