Introduction to Restaurant and Café Fit-Outs: Health and Safety Legislation

Restaurant and café fit-outs present a unique challenge within the commercial fit-out sector. Not only do they require strict adherence to numerous laws, regulations and rules, but also they have to create compelling design. If one manages to miss the line between these two factors, they will face problems starting from closing of their business due to non-conformity to the legislation and finishing with heavy fines or reputational damage.

Health and Safety Regulatory Requirements

There is a wide legislative basis for all premises where food is prepared and served in the United Kingdom. Some of the key pieces of legislation include The Food Safety Act 1990 and Food Hygiene Regulations 2006 which provide basic health and safety requirements to ensure that food service environments do not cause contamination and enable easy cleaning of the environment. Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on food hygiene requires implementation of HACCP principles in the process of designing and construction of food business premises. It means that some materials used should assist HACCP application. In addition, areas where food is being prepared need smooth, hard wearing, easily cleaned and hygienic surfaces.

Fire safety requirements of Building Regulations Part B are relevant for restaurants and cafés due to the presence of cooking equipment and high numbers of clients. Special requirements exist for such premises, taking into account peculiarities of evacuation procedures.

Commercial Kitchen Design and Compliance Issues

Commercial kitchens represents the part of the restaurant or cafe that requires the most legislative requirements in terms of compliance with regulations. Ventilation requirements according to Building Regulations Part F stipulate installation of extraction system in order to remove steam, cooking odours and fumes from the kitchen.

Placement of extraction canopies, their size and connection to the ducting system that will exhaust them externally without affecting neighbours is important in terms of regulation. Grease management system is also a must according to law, as otherwise there may be drainage blockages caused by the grease.

In order to meet requirements for commercial kitchen floors they should be slip-resistant to the HSE standards (it is the most common workplace accident in the hospitality industry), non-porous, coved at junction with the walls to minimize bacteria accumulation and able to withstand commercial cleaning products. In other words, standard commercial floor is not applicable; special food-safe flooring is necessary. Position of floor drains is also predetermined by the food safety regulations, not aesthetic preferences.

They have to be placed in such a way as to ensure easy cleaning of all parts of kitchen area, have enough space to withstand peak water volumes and have appropriate coverings to prevent pest ingress but still to allow cleaning.

Other Health and Safety Considerations

Some health and safety considerations apply to front-of-house area. First of all, the equality act 2010 provides disability discrimination provisions, obligating provision of the access ramps, accessible tables, toilet facilities and entrance to the building.

Toilet facilities in accordance with the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 have to meet minimum standards according to client capacity of the premises and separate staff and customer toilets in premises of a certain size. Provision of hand washing facilities near the places of food preparation and toilets is required by Food Hygiene Regulations; they have to provide hot and cold water, soap and drying facilities.

Electric Installation Specifics

Special care should be taken of electrical installations in restaurants and cafés because of high concentration of high-power equipment in wet environments. All the works should meet the requirements of BS 7671 (IET Wiring Regulations). Protection from electrical hazard in wet areas includes, among others, RCD protection and IP-rating of fixtures.

Requirements for Gas and Ventilation

Premises equipped with gas cooking equipment should be brought in compliance with the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. All installations and commissioning has to be carried out by the Gas Safe registered personnel. In addition, cooking equipment requires a specific pressure and pipe diameter which are usually not covered by ordinary domestic installations.

Ventilation system should achieve adequate number of air changes in order to maintain suitable working temperature and quality of air in accordance with the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. As a rule, the heat load in commercial kitchens is high, therefore there is always a danger of non-compliance and unsuitable working conditions.

Acoustic Considerations

Noise levels in restaurant or café influence staff’s wellbeing and neighbouring premises. The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 stipulate that employers should protect their employees from high level of noise. In commercial kitchens noise level exceeds 85 dB, what obligates the employer to provide acoustic assessment and hearing protection for staff members.

Levels of noise emitted to neighbouring properties should be in compliance with Environmental Protection Act 1990. Music played in commercial premises, extraction and mechanical equipment can cause problems with neighbours. Therefore, walls and ceilings and mechanical equipment should be acoustically treated in order to reduce noise.

Material Specifications

Any material used in a restaurant or café fit-out has to be specified not only in terms of its aesthetics and functionality but also in terms of compliance with regulations. Walls of food preparation area should be smooth, impermeable and washable up to 2 meters high. Suspended ceilings in kitchen area should be sealed in order to prevent pests harbourage and cleaning.

Joinery in food preparation areas should be made with no exposed timber as it is impossible to sanitize them to food safety standards.

Costs of Non-Compliance

Environmental health officers conduct regular inspections of food service premises and assess their compliance with the legislative and regulatory requirements. Non-compliance with them leads to issuing improvement notice. If the notice has not been followed, premises receive prohibition notice, and the prosecution can lead to the unlimited fine. Moreover, if situation is especially grave, there can be a question of criminal liability of the business owner.

It is much cheaper to make fit-out in compliance with all requirements than to make retrospective compliance. Replacement of non-conforming flooring, drainage systems or ventilation in already fitted-out premises leads to extra expenses and disruption of the business during repair works.

Conclusion

Regulatory compliance and attractive design are not mutually exclusive in the case of fit-out of the restaurant or café. Many of the most successful food business premises show that it is possible to meet the regulatory requirements and at the same time create a commercially viable design.