Storage of cooking class equipment at home - Food standards

[Ungarsee]

My wife made a career change during lockdown and has bought a kids cooking class franchise. All going well but we’re struggling to get an answer to a question relating to food standards and pets. The business comes with a shed load of equipment (portable ovens, bowls, scales, yea sets etc etc) and she has taken over a spare bedroom to store it. She would prefer to use what is currently the kids playroom as it’s right by the front door but this is where the kids guinea pigs live. We can’t move the guinea pigs upstairs as that room can become a furnace in the summer and our little furry friends would be toast. It’s too much of a ball ache to temporarily swap them with the seasons.

The guinea pigs are in a cage and would be on the other side of the room from the equipment. To be clear, no food prep goes on in this room, she operates the classes at church halls and the like, so it is purely storage.

Does anyone have any experience with food standards/environmental health and know whether it would be an issue for the guinea pigs to share a room with cooking equipment? My gut instinct is there would be an issue but then logic dictates there wouldn’t as they can’t escape (we’ve left to door open accidentally in the past and they’ve got no interest in doing a bunk, plus the drop would kill them if they tried it). If we had a dog or cat there would be a far higher chance of them coming into contact with the equipment.

Thanks

[bristolbaron]

Not a problem if she’s not preparing food in the area. The risk of cross contamination is just as high moving equipment and far higher from children cooking!

I take it she’s completed a safer food better business pack?

https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/...

She could evidence her storage within an action sheet:

https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/...

Personally I’d have an action plan which is along the lines of:

Equipment is stored in sealed containers within a private dwelling house.
Equipment is transported via a personal vehicle.
When brought to the place of food preparation, sealed containers are not placed on food preparation surfaces.
Equipment is wiped down (with relevant BS product - BS EN 1276 or BS EN 13697) before being placed in food preparation areas.
Sealed containers are wiped down with relevant BS product before refilling for storage.

Evidencing good documenting of standards is the key!

[Ungarsee]

bristolbaron said:

Not a problem if she’s not preparing food in the area. The risk of cross contamination is just as high moving equipment and far higher from children cooking!

I take it she’s completed a safer food better business pack?

https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/...

She could evidence her storage within an action sheet:

https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/...

Personally I’d have an action plan which is along the lines of:

Equipment is stored in sealed containers within a private dwelling house.
Equipment is transported via a personal vehicle.
When brought to the place of food preparation, sealed containers are not placed on food preparation surfaces.
Equipment is wiped down (with relevant BS product - BS EN 1276 or BS EN 13697) before being placed in food preparation areas.
Sealed containers are wiped down with relevant BS product before refilling for storage.

Evidencing good documenting of standards is the key!

Thank you for this, really helpful. The bits are all stored in boxes in an ikea kallax type unit so are open at the top rather than sealed. Would that make any difference?

[Beetnik]

Oddly enough, it's not the pets that are the problem - as bristolbaron says - they're not a problem other than in a food preparation area. However, pet food should be kept well away from all food production and storage areas which is going to be the issue for you.