Level 3 Diploma in Food Hygiene and Safety

The five essential food hygiene rules are designed to keep food safe for consumption and prevent contamination:

1. Cleanliness: Always wash your hands, utensils, and food preparation areas before and after handling food.

2. Separation: Keep raw and cooked foods separate to prevent cross-contamination.

3. Cooking: Cook food thoroughly to destroy harmful bacteria, especially meat, poultry, and seafood.

4. Chilling: Store perishable foods at the correct temperature (below 5°C) and refrigerate leftovers promptly.

5. Checking: Always check use-by dates and ensure food is stored properly to maintain freshness.

Food safety refers to the practices, procedures, and regulations that ensure the food we eat is free from hazards and safe for consumption. It involves controlling potential risks from biological, chemical, or physical contaminants during production, preparation, storage, and distribution. In the UK, food safety standards are governed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which sets strict guidelines for businesses handling food.

Food hygiene and safety together refer to the methods and practices that ensure food is handled, prepared, and stored in a way that prevents contamination and illness. While hygiene focuses on maintaining cleanliness during food handling, safety covers the broader systems that guarantee food is safe to eat—from sourcing ingredients to serving the final dish.

The terms food hygiene and food safety are often used together but have distinct meanings.

– Food hygiene focuses on cleanliness — washing hands, sanitising surfaces, and preventing cross-contamination.

– Food safety encompasses wider controls — including storage temperatures, cooking processes, and compliance with legislation such as HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points).

Basic food hygiene rules are the everyday actions that ensure food is safe to consume. These include:

– Washing hands thoroughly before handling food.

– Using clean utensils and sanitised work areas.

– Storing raw and cooked foods separately.

– Cooking food at the correct temperature.

– Refrigerating or freezing perishable items promptly.

When people ask, “What’s the difference between food hygiene and food safety?”, it’s important to note that hygiene is about practical cleanliness, while safety involves systematic risk control. Hygiene is one component of food safety, ensuring safe preparation and preventing contamination, whereas safety covers all measures—from sourcing and production to serving—that keep food fit for consumption.

Food hygiene and safety is the discipline that ensures food is prepared, cooked, and stored in conditions that prevent contamination and protect public health. In the UK, these standards are reinforced by the Food Hygiene Regulations 2013 and monitored by local authorities and the Food Standards Agency. They apply to all food businesses, catering services, and even home-based food handlers.