The New Starter and the Sushi Bar
A sushi counter in a food hall hires a new food handler who starts on Monday. On her first morning she is given a knife, a cutting board, and a tray of raw salmon, and told to start preparing nigiri for the lunch rush. No induction has taken place. The counter's HACCP plan identifies raw fish, ready-to-eat rice, and hand contact as significant hazards. The manager says 'she has done this job before, she knows what she's doing'. The counter has one handwash basin, which is also used to rinse rice. There is no documented training record for any staff member, and the last two agency staff worked a single shift each. The lunch rush begins in 90 minutes.
1. Explain why 'she has done this job before' is not sufficient evidence of competence for this role, with reference to the specific hazards on this counter.
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Experience elsewhere does not demonstrate that she knows this counter's hazards, controls, or procedures. Competence must be assessed against the specific HACCP plan, and it must be documented.
Specific hazards here:
- Raw fish: Listeria monocytogenes and parasites are hazards in raw ready-to-eat fish; controls include sourcing, freezing where required, and strict temperature control. She must know the sourcing and storage rules for this counter.
- Ready-to-eat rice: cooked rice is a Bacillus cereus risk if held warm or cooled slowly; she must know the time/temperature limits for this counter's rice.
- Hand contact: nigiri is shaped by hand, so hand hygiene is a critical control. She must know when and how to wash hands, and the glove/tongs rules.
- Cross-contamination: raw fish and ready-to-eat items share the counter; she must know the colour-coding or separation rules for boards and knives.
A prior employer's practices may differ or be worse. Without induction and a documented competence check, the business cannot show due diligence, and the handler cannot be assumed to be following this plan.
2. Design an induction and supervision plan that can be completed before and during the first shift, given the 90-minute constraint.
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Before service (first 90 minutes):
- 10-minute briefing covering: handwashing (when and how), the handwash basin rule (it is for hands only - rice must be rinsed elsewhere), temperature limits for the chiller and rice, separation of raw fish from ready-to-eat items, and reporting illness.
- Demonstration and observed practice: she washes hands correctly while the supervisor watches; she sets up her station with the correct board and knife; she prepares one item under direct observation.
- Sign-off: supervisor records that the briefing was given and the observed practice was satisfactory, with date and signature.
During the first shift:
- Supervise directly for the first two hours; check handwashing at each change of task.
- Check temperatures of the chiller and rice at the start of service and record them.
- Do not leave her alone on the counter until the supervisor is satisfied.
After the shift: complete the fuller induction (allergens, cleaning, waste, pest awareness) and schedule refresher training. Record everything.
3. The counter has one handwash basin also used for rinsing rice. Explain the risk and the corrective action, and how this interacts with the new starter's training.
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Risk: a handwash basin used for food preparation is a cross-contamination point. Rice rinsed in the basin can pick up bacteria from hands, and hands washed in a basin used for food can pick up contamination from the rice. The basin is also likely to be contaminated by splashes from raw fish preparation nearby. This defeats the purpose of a designated handwash facility, which food law requires to be available and used only for handwashing.
Corrective action:
- Provide a separate sink or dedicated rice rinsing arrangement, and designate the handwash basin for hands only, with soap and paper towels.
- Signage at the basin stating 'handwashing only'.
- Re-brief all staff, including agency staff, and record it.
Interaction with training: the new starter must be told this rule in her induction, because she will otherwise copy what she sees. If the practice continues, the training is undermined. The manager must fix the equipment and the practice, not just tell the new starter not to do it. This should be recorded as a corrective action in the HACCP records, with a review date.