Skip to content
Menu

Food safety and hygiene

As well as registering and inspecting businesses to ensure they’re preparing, cooking and storing food safely, we also work to share information about handling food at home.

To avoid bacteria in food, which causes food poisoning, it’s vital to remember the 4 C's of food hygiene:

  • chilling
  • cleaning
  • cooking
  • cross-contamination

Find more help and advice on these in the food safety at home section of the Food Standards Agency website.

Christmas food safety

From defrosting the turkey to using up leftovers safely, thinking hygienically will help keep your Christmas safe and minimise food waste over the festive period.

Find tips on having a safe Christmas in the kitchen on the Food Standards Agency (FSA) website.

Summer food safety

During hot weather the FSA offers additional advice on effective chilling (fridge temperature and defrosting) and thorough cooking (cooking meat products properly).

Find out more about how to ensure your barbecue food is cooked and stored safely on the FSA website.

Eating out

Always remember to look out for the food hygiene rating certificate in local pubs, cafes, restaurants and take-aways when you're eating out. This shows they’ve been inspected and approved by us for their food handling and preparation.

If you’re concerned about the places where you have eaten or purchased food, or feel the hygiene standards need to be better, let us know. Find out more about how to make a complaint about a food business.

Food Safety Week

In June each year, Food Safety Week is a national campaign run by the Food Standards Agency. It raises awareness of the importance of food safety and the basic principles of food hygiene.

In support of the campaign, we’ve visited a number of primary schools and community groups in the Newark and Sherwood area. These visits have included a short talk about the importance of hand washing and demonstration of effective hand washing techniques.

A UV light cabinet is used to demonstrate hand hygiene, highlighting any issues in hand washing techniques that can be easily corrected. Participants received a food safety information pack, giving children and parents additional advice on preparing, cooking and storing food safely.