In one sense we are really the last thing that should be handling and producing food. Until someone develops a robot or similar to prepare all our food, we have to make do with a less than ideal solution and introduce fitting procedures and controls to ensure that the food is protected from us. These measures can be grouped under the banner Personal Hygiene.

We understand the importance of personal hygiene and have comprehensive measures in place to ensure that your food is the safest available.

All staff are trained and refreshed regularly on the practical aspects of personal hygiene. They know the importance of clean hands, hair and protective clothing. They know the importance of reporting of specified illnesses to management as well as the means of transmission of bacteria.

We have a framework of systems to support this knowledge.

Before work each day, all staff are checked by supervisors, to ensure that they have

• just donned clean, fully fitting protective clothing,
• that hair is clean, tidy and covered,
• that nails are short and clean
• and that footwear is clean and appropriate for their tasks.

In addition they also check that have nothing that can fall into the food (buttons, pen tops, hair clips etc.). All these measures are recorded each day by each department.

On returning to work from illness or holidays, and before handling any food, all staff have to attend a brief meeting whereby they are required to fill in and sign a questionnaire to determine if they pose a threat to the food. If we receive a yes answer to any of the questions, they are not allowed to handle food until medical advice has been sought and proof of their fitness to handle food received.

All our hand wash stations have temperature controlled water, with either automatic activation or non hand operable. All have post wash alcohol rub dispensers.

All staff have segregated clothing storage area's between both internal and external clothing and raw and cooked clothing. Staff rest areas are similarly segregated.

No member of staff is allowed to either travel to or from work in their protective clothing or leave the premises during the day without first changing into their external cloths. The only exception here being delivery drivers.

We don't feel all these measures are particularly exceptional, even though visitors comment on the lengths that we go to. We do feel however that our customers have supported us for years and deserve the best.