Análisis Situacional:

This clause has been included to ensure that single-use items: • do not contaminate food;

• do not allow the transmission of infectious diseases; and • are not reused.

A single-use item is defined and means instrument, apparatus, utensil or other thing intended by the manufacturer to be used only once in connection with food handling, and includes disposable gloves. Other items included are drinking straws, disposable eating and drinking utensils, plastic containers for selling takeaway food, cardboard boxes for pizzas and other disposable wrappers or packaging materials used in contact with food.

The definition refers to items that the manufacturer intends to be used only once. There may be items that a food business considers can be reused but if this is not the

manufacturer’s intention, these items cannot be reused in contact with food or the mouth of a person.

For some single-use items it may be obvious that the item is intended by the manufacturer to be used only once. This fact may be evident from information provided with the item. It may also be evident from the nature of the item. For example, plastic drinking straws are not intended to be reused. If it is unclear whether or not an item can be reused in contact with food or the mouth of a person, advice should be sought from the manufacturer or supplier of the item.

23 A food business must:

(a) in relation to all single use items, take all practicable measures to ensure they do not come into contact with food or the mouth of a person if they are:

(i) contaminated; or

If the food business knows that a single-use item is contaminated it cannot be used in contact with food or the mouth of a person. For example, a single-use item is contaminated if it is not visibly clean, for example it is contaminated with dirt, hair, chemicals, glass, metal, wood splinters, food waste, insects or insect or rodent droppings.

(ii) reasonably suspected of being contaminated; and

If the food business reasonably suspects that a single-use item is contaminated it cannot be used in contact with food or the mouth of a person. In the following examples it may be reasonable to suspect a single-use item has become contaminated:

• the contact surface of the item is handled by a customer and placed back for use by another customer;

• the items are being stored together and in some of the items there is evidence of vermin contamination — it is therefore reasonable to suspect that all of these items have become contaminated (unless the items were separately protected from contamination);

• the item is dropped on the floor; and

• the outer protective packaging has been damaged.

(b) in relation to single use items that are intended to come into contact with food or the mouth of a person:

(i) take all practicable measures to protect them from the likelihood of contamination until use; and

If a single-use item becomes contaminated or is reasonably suspected of being

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contaminated, it cannot be cleaned and sanitised to enable it to be reused. It is therefore very important that these items are protected from contamination before they are used. Practical measures that can be taken include:

• enclosing the item in protective packaging or a container;

• placing the item in a dispensing container if a customer is to access it, provided that the dispensing container enables only the customer to handle the item he or she is to use;

• storing the item away from chemicals; and

• storing the item in an area that is sealed from insects and rodents, for example a food storage area.

(ii) not reuse such items.

Single-use items must not be reused if they will come into contact with food or a person’s mouth. These items have not been manufactured to permit effective cleaning and

sanitising. If these items are reused, food coming into contact with these items may become contaminated or diseases may be transmitted from person to person.

Single-use items provided to customers for use cannot be reused by the food business — they may however be reused by customers. For example, customers may reuse plastic takeaway containers in their homes but food businesses are not permitted to reuse these containers. Customers may also refill disposable cups with drink at a self-service drink unit. Disposable gloves may be used for one task only. Once a glove is removed from a hand, it cannot be reused. Disposable gloves must be changed between handling raw and ready-to- eat food. The same disposable gloves must never be used to handle raw food and then ready-to-eat food.

Food businesses may reuse single-use items for uses that do not involve contact with food or the mouth of a person. For example, used storage containers could be reused to collect soiled cutlery.