The filthiest chopping board I’ve ever seen 🤢
EHO Story 📩 I’ve inspected a lot of kitchens, and I’m used to finding dirty equipment. But one inspection left me genuinely shocked. In the…
When a fridge door nearly landed on my foot…
EHO Story 📩 Some inspections are routine, you know, checks of cleaning, storage, prep, food safety records, food safety management systems etc. But every so…
Under the sack was… (No, it wasn’t rats.)
EHO Story 📩 Back when I worked in local government, I was sometimes involved in nighttime raids on food businesses, part of a multi-agency team with the…
What happens before an EHO turns up
EHO Story 📩 Ever wondered what an Environmental Health Officer is doing before they turn up at your door? Because while most people imagine we just pop…
The time I bought sanitiser for a kebab shop. With my own money.
EHO Story 📩 This one takes me back to my days working in local government. There was a kebab shop I was working with. The…
“There are no rats.” (There were.)
EHO Story 📩 Back when I was working in local government, I closed a food business due to a severe rat infestation. This wasn’t a…
Understanding allergen claims in foodservice: Free-from, Gluten-free, and Vegan
Understanding allergen claims in foodservice helps you to understand what different labels and claims actually mean so that you can provide your customers with accurate…
“It’s sunstroke,” they said. Spoiler: it wasn’t.
EHO Story 📩 This one goes way back, long before I was an Environmental Health Officer and food safety trainer, back when I was just…
7 tips for communicating allergens to customers
There are two big reasons why effectively communicating allergens to customers matters: 1) It ensures the customer receives the correct allergen information 2) It helps…
Allergy Awareness Front of House: 10 Tips for Handling Allergen Requests with Confidence
If you’re working front of house, you play a critical role in allergen safety. Allergy awareness front of house is essential for protecting food-hypersensitive customers.…
A typical day in the life of an EHO (if such a thing exists)
EHO Story 📩 People often ask what it’s like being an Environmental Health Officer. They usually imagine a quiet day of clipboard in hand checking fridges,…
Food handler allergen responsibilities: 11 things you need to know.
If you work in a kitchen or handle food in any way, allergens aren’t someone else’s job. They’re your responsibility too. It’s really important that…
What an EHO did with a pen after touching mouse poo…
EHO Story 📩 A fellow Environmental Health Officer (EHO) told me this story recently and it had me laughing and cringing in equal measure. They…
Food allergy and intolerance (and coeliac disease): what’s the difference?
If you’re working in a food business, it’s not enough to know that someone has “a dietary need.” You need to understand the difference between…
How to prevent allergen cross-contact in your kitchen
It’s extremely important for any food business to prevent allergen cross-contact or allergen cross-contamination, as it’s also known. You might have the best allergen folder…