MEMBERS ADVICE HOW'S YOUR DRAINS?


RICHARD STEVENSON, TECHNICAL MANAGER Delivering advice to Members


Drainage issues are not usually at the top of the agenda when it comes to food safety and hygiene. Guidance manuals and textbooks usually relegate drainage to the end of the chapter on Equipment & Facilities.


Te legislation is also very brief:


“Drainage facilities are to be adequate for the purpose intended. Tey are to be designed and constructed to avoid the risk of contamination. Where drainage channels are fully or partially open, they are to be so designed as to ensure that waste does not flow from a contaminated area towards or into a clean area, in particular an area where foods likely to present a high risk to the final consumer are handled.” (Regulation 852/2004 Annex 11 Chapter 1)


Te usual guidance on how to comply with the regulation would be:


• Drainage systems serving food premises must be capable of efficiently disposing of waste water and soil drainage. • Systems must prevent the entry of foul air or effluent into food rooms. • Tere should be sufficient capacity to be able to cope with


peak loads • All points of entry into the drainage system must be protected by effective traps. • Internal inspection chambers should be avoided if possible. • Where chambers have to be installed they must be accessible and closed with a secured, sealed and airtight double cover. • When an inspection chamber is opened all food must be removed from the room. • Stack ventilation pipes must be carried through to the outside of the premises and be positioned away from any air intakes. • Toilets should preferably feed into the drainage system aſter the food prep and service areas.


GULLIES AND CHANNELS In many larger food preparation rooms extra drainage is oſten required to accommodate moveable equipment and for water produced by floor cleaning. Tis can be provided by means of gullies and/or channels (directing water into a central gully) set into the floor's surface.


Gullies/Channels should be of a glazed earthenware or stainless-steel construction with all joints permanently water sealed. Gullies should contain perforated baskets to collect and trap debris. Gully covers should be lightweight, preferably constructed of high-grade stainless steel and easily removeable for regular cleaning.


CLEANING & MAINTENANCE Under floor drainage systems should, under normal circumstances, be relatively self-cleaning. Over time however there may be some accumulation of grease


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deposits. Tese can be removed by using a special drainage enzyme cleaner or employing a specialist contractor.


If grease traps are fitted these should be cleaned weekly or according to the manufacturer’s instructions.


Overflows, plug holes, u-bends, p-traps and s-traps etc together with associated pipework should be cleaned on a suitably regular basis.


Gullies and channels are effectively part of the floor surface and should therefore be cleaned daily. Covers should be removed and cleaned daily.


WHY AM I ASKING ABOUT YOUR DRAINS? Simply because there have been a few articles recently in food


safety magazines (the type read by EHOs) that have highlighted that poor drainage can provide the ideal conditions for Listeria. A meat wholesaler had exactly this problem last year and was fined £275,000 for reasons connected with poor drainage and not reporting positive Listeria test results.


Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a particularly nasty bug that you would not want anywhere near a butcher’s shop or any other food business. As we warned you recently Lm is currently top of the hit list with EHOs so I just have a feeling that they will be paying more attention to drainage systems this year.


Poor drainage also attracts flies, cockroaches and rats. Not a great combination. n


PRIMARY AUTHORITY


• Don’t forget that being in Primary Authority gives you substantial extra protection from the risks of over-zealous enforcement.


• Any EHO considering enforcement action must refer the matter to the Primary Authority (Horsham District Council) before proceeding.


• Te Primary Authority then has the legal right to block any proposed action provided the business is following the assured advice.


• Primary Authority is easy to join. Just let me know and I will do the rest. Tere is no long-term commitment.


• For more information on Primary Authority check out our website or give me a call.


• Te award-winning assured advice (PREMIER ADVICE) is also freely available for you to peruse on the website at www.nfmſt.co.uk. Please let me know what you think!


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