Are people who work in supermarkets required to have qualifications in basic hygiene?
Under UK law, food businesses, including supermarkets, must ensure that all staff who handle food are supervised, instructed and/or trained in food hygiene in a way that is appropriate to the work they do. In practice, this means that anyone who handles food should be instructed in the basics of good food hygiene before they start work. Staff working with unwrapped foods, for example on the deli counter, should receive more formal hygiene training to ensure they handle and prepare food safely. This training doesn’t have to lead to a formal qualification or certificate. What matters the most is that the staff know enough about food hygiene, and apply their knowledge effectively in their daily work, to make sure the food they handle is safe to eat.
