Discusses research recently carried out by Delyn BC and the Audit Commission in its search for performance indicators for the environmental health food safety function, and how this can facilitate improved analysis of “Hazard” and “Risk Management” performance in food premises. Analysis has been made of risk assessment scores from 8,000 food premises inspections carried out by Environmental Health Officers from varying LAs, which have been transferred into a computerized database, located at Delyn BC. Interpretation and observation of the results and illustrations has revealed some fascinating similarities between the LA data presented. Implementation of these proposals could provide more uniform risk analysis and enhanced enforcement standards in food premises, leading to improved food safety by enabling the more accurate focusing of resources and efforts to where they are most needed and effective.

Introduction Providing safe and nutritious food and water to employees in remote areas is not without challenge, particularly in a large project where the number of employees is increasing rapidly and the caterer is expected to cope.The control of catering contracts can become more fragmented with the risk of illness from food and water hazards exponentially increased. To manage this, a ‘food safety specialist’ was brought in to join the regional health team to identify essential issues and produce a methodology and strategy based on minimum acceptable standards in food hygiene and catering management. A 3 stage process was designed:Introducing ‘effective’ hygiene inspections and action trackingEquipment and infrastructure improvementsFood hygiene training and awareness for all levels, accredited by a professional body in the UK. The food safety specialist and his team worked in partnership with caterers providing opportunities to support them and engender better communication between them, contracts managers and other key people. Tools were produced to assist caterers, contract managers and health and safety teams inspecting facilities. These will be demonstrated in this paper including a risk matrix of catering establishments in a business or project detailing the significant issues, confidence levels and a colour coded and percentage ranking. The assurance path consisted of setting the plan, prioritising issues and continually visiting catering establishments, producing reports and feedback and finally re-introducing audits when all actions were closed out.Contract reviews, deliverable Key Performance Indicators (KPI's, within a Contractor Control Plan) and the centralisation of catering contracts and plans have proven beneficial where implemented. Findings and progress - there were common issues across the project which mainly fell into three areas; inadequate facilities, temperature control/disinfection and hand washing. Progress has been substantial over time, with a marked decline in occupational food related illness. There is much more transparent communication between all parties. Recognition from senior leaders and their support for resolving issues including the infrastructure of facilities has aided this initiative substantially. Many individuals have now successfully been through the training programme. Laboratory accreditation is now beingintroduced for food and water sampling. Conclusion This strategy can be easily replicated and the benefits shared however there is always a need to review and provide continual improvement. Manuscript Background Food safety is not usually the first priority in a large exploration project. In fact, it's a speciality normally left in the hands of the supplier (the caterer) to self-regulate. Moreover, actually finding a caterer who has the scope and scale to deliver ‘large site’ catering can be difficult and potentially cost-prohibitive. A competitive caterer with a ‘global brand’ reputation is often hard to find. Once you have selected your caterer, you may then have to provide equipment & facilities.These facilities are usually based on predicted numbers of people with little flexibility for rapid fluctuations in numbers as can occur over a project life-span.

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