H800 මඟින් සෞඛ්‍යාරක්ෂිත ආහාර පරිහරන ස්ථානයක් ඇතිකිරීම (Guidelines on Grading Food Handling Establishments using H800)


1. Objectives of grading of Food Handling Establishments
 To plan out the programme for inspection of food handling establishments.
 To educate and advise the owners and food handlers on safe food practices.
 To formulate and implement an action plan to improve food safety.
 To ensure and maintain quality and safety of food.
 To upgrade the Food Handling Establishments.
 
2. H 800 (Revised) 2011 Format 
To achieve the above objectives, Public Health Inspectors should inspect and grade Food
Handling Establishments using the Health 800 (Revised 2011) form. The PHI should actively
involve the owner/manager in this inspection process by which they would get first hand
information on the status of the establishment. 

3. Categorisation of Food Handling Establishments 
Food Handling Establishments should be categorised according to the nature of the business
and the H-800 forms should be filed separately according to the 7 categories of
establishments. Following are the working definitions for categorisation of the food handling
establishments.

1. Food Factory (Code -FF)
A premises fully or partially manufacturing, processing or packaging food for human
consumption. Bakeries and grinding mills exclusively carrying out grinding are not
included in this category.
2. Hotel (Code -HT)
3. Bakery (Code -BK)
A premises which manufactures food items using wheat or other kind of flour.
4. Tea kiosk/Sank bar (Code - TS)
Premises serving food items that are not a main meal.
5. Grocery (Code -GS)
Premises that does not prepare food but sells prepared food items or food ingredients.
6. Supermarket (Code -SM)
A large scale establishment which sells food and variety of consumer items and have
facilities for the customer to select items by themselves.
7. Others (Code -OT)
A food handling establishment that does not fall into any of the above categorisations.
  
4. Rating of Food Handling Establishments
According to the percentage score obtained, Food Handling Establishments can be rated in to
4 grades.
75 – 100% marks  - A Grade (Good) 
50 - 74% marks     - B Grade (Satisfactory)
25 – 49% marks    - C Grade  (Unsatisfactory)
0 - 24% marks       - D Grade  (Very Unsatisfactory)
 
In awarding A or B Rating it is mandatory that all relevant sections have obtained minimum
of 75% or 50% respectively. When awarding marks if certain points are irrelevant to a
particular type of food establishment, those points should not be considered and the
percentage of marks obtained should be calculated using the total of the relevant sections.

5. Inspection process and making notes
1. During the first inspection two sets of the form should be completed. One copy should be
kept filed in the establishment to be produced at any time. Second copy should be filed
and maintained in the office of the PHI. During subsequent visits second page of the H
800 should be used and it should be also filled in duplicate as done earlier.
2. When inspecting food handling establishments, in addition to technical aspects on food
safety attention should be given to provisions in the Food Act 1980, Regulations made
under the Food Act, especially the 1988 Food Regulation. For each item inspected the
provisions indicated in the regulations should be used as the norms/standards. 
3. PHI number given to the food establishment should be indicated in the following order - 
Code for PHI area/Code for type of Food Handling Establishment/Reference Number for
the establishment. Eg; Second Bakery in the Mihinthale PHI area – MIN/BK/02
4. During the first inspection the rating with the date should be written in the relevant cage
in the upper left corner of the form. During subsequent inspections if the rating is
changed, the new rating should be indicated with date in the relevant cages. If rating is
unchanged no new entry should be made in the cage.
5. Inspections should be done once a month in establishments with C and D rating, Once in
two months in B rated establishments and once in three months in A rated establishments.
Inspection notes should be made in all follow-up inspections.
6. During inspection guidance and technical advice should be given for improvement and
action taken should be recorded in the relevant section.
7.  Legal action should be taken against owners/managers of food handling establishments
who do not adhere to guidance and advice given and continue to function the
establishment in an unsatisfactory manner.

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