Provide Safe Single-Use Items
What counts and why it matters
Single-use items include cutlery, straws, cups, lids, containers, gloves, serviettes, sachets, takeaway bags and packaging. They matter because they touch food directly and are often used where no further cooking or washing step will remove contamination. Candidates must understand food-grade materials, food-contact surfaces, contamination during dispensing and storage, and the difference between a single-use item and a reusable one.
Storing and dispensing
Keep single-use items in closed, clean packaging until use, stored off the floor and away from chemicals, cleaning products and waste. Dispense by the handle or from a dispenser, not by hand from an open stack. Never reuse items designed for one use, and never use a container that was not intended for food, such as a chemical drum or a takeaway container that has already held raw food. Check packaging is intact; damaged packaging means the item is contaminated.
Traps that appear in questions
- Assuming all plastic or paper is food-grade. Only materials intended for food contact are acceptable.
- Reusing single-use containers for storage, especially after they have held raw food.
- Storing cups or cutlery under a sink, near chemicals, or on the floor.
- Handling the food-contact surface of a lid, straw or cutlery with bare hands.
- Using single-use gloves as a handwashing substitute, or wearing the same gloves across raw and ready-to-eat tasks.
- Believing a quick rinse makes a single-use item reusable.
Worked example / rule of thumb
A delivery of takeaway containers arrives in a torn box sitting on the floor near the mop bucket. Rule of thumb: if it touches food, it must be food-grade, kept closed, kept off the floor and kept away from chemicals. Reject or quarantine damaged stock, store it on shelving in a clean dry area, and dispense by the outer edge or from the dispenser.