Food Hygiene for Takeaways
Takeaways juggle high volumes, cooked-to-order and pre-cooked items, and packaging for delivery, and each one brings its own risks.
Recommended courses
A starting point for this kind of work. Your employer decides what your role needs.
Who this is for
- Takeaway cooks and counter staff
- Owners and managers
Relevant topics
- Cooling and reheating
- Online allergen information
- Fryer management
Typical food safety risks
Pre-cooked rice and meatsCooling and reheating errors are a classic cause of illness.
Allergens onlineAllergen information must be available before the customer orders and again on delivery, even when they order through a delivery platform.
Fryer cross-contactShared oil can carry allergens from battered fish and prawns into chips.
FAQs
Is reheating rice safe?
Only if it was cooled quickly, ideally within an hour, kept in the fridge for no more than a day and reheated once until steaming hot. In Scotland, reheated food must reach at least 82°C unless this would harm its quality.
Do takeaways have extra rules on hygiene ratings?
In Wales and Northern Ireland, the rating sticker must be displayed at or near the entrance. In Wales, takeaways with a menu or leaflet that lets people order without visiting must also carry a bilingual statement pointing customers to the ratings website and their right to ask for the rating.
Our certificates are private training certificates of completion, not regulated qualifications. UK law does not require one specific food hygiene certificate. It requires food handlers to be supervised and instructed or trained appropriately. Employers decide what training each role needs, and a certificate does not replace practical instruction or supervision.