The 5 Biggest Food Safety Risks In Care Homes – and How to Fix Them

Food safety in care homes is non-negotiable. In a setting where residents are more vulnerable to foodborne illnesses and other health risks, even a minor slip-up can have major consequences. Unfortunately for busy care home staff, hazards are present at every stage – from food delivery and storage to handling and serving – and that’s before factoring in individual dietary needs or allergies, which add another layer of complexity to daily operations.

In this blog, we’ll explore five of the biggest care home food safety challenges and how they can be tackled with smarter tools and processes.

1, Inconsistent Food Safety Documentation

While many industries have taken technology in their stride – using it to aid their day-to-day work and become more efficient – there are plenty of care homes still using pen and paper for health and safety documentation.

Although the Care Quality Commission (CQC) isn’t strict on how data is documented, it will closely monitor these practices during inspections, emphasising the importance of food safety compliance.

With local authorities also responsible for enforcing food hygiene standards, care homes are regularly inspected by a local Environmental Health Officer and given a food hygiene rating score. For care homes, this means taking proactive steps to minimise risks and ensure that food safety practices are watertight. No care home wants to be awarded a low rating like Heron Lodge care home in Wroxham, which received a one-star rating last year.

One of the most frequent problems with paper-based logs is the inconsistency in record-keeping; staff may forget to fill in logs, or records might be incomplete or illegible, making it difficult to track accurately. And of course, paperwork can easily pile up, or get lost – not ideal in the case of an unexpected visitor!

Using digital food safety tools for day-to-day operations and internal audits helps streamline the process, ensuring nothing is overlooked. The added benefit is that everyone that needs to gets to see the results straightaway and anyone with responsibilities for signing off actions can do so in a transparent way – ‘tracking and chasing’ is key!

2, Lack of Centralised Oversight

Using pen and paper becomes even more of a problem when a care home has multiple sites across the country. Non-uniformity in standards and procedures, whether that be documenting food safety checks, or tracking inventory, makes it difficult for management to spot any areas of concern across their settings.

Having access to real-time data and a centralised reporting system gives visibility to anyone that needs it and can be used to identify staff training requirements, which, of course, should be consistent across sites.

The reality of being a care home provider with multiple sites is that if one setting’s reputation is tarnished, it’s likely the others will be too. A single incident can have ripple effects, made even worse if it’s reported in the news, as many inspection failures, reinspection, and closures are.

3, Time-Consuming Manual Food Safety Processes

Staff must do all they can to prevent foodborne illnesses, or someone becoming ill due to an allergy which was overlooked.

Food poisoning has the capability of wiping anyone out for days, but there is added risk for the vulnerable, with a higher likelihood of severe complications developing and through secondary spread of any infections in enclosed settings.

The only way to protect residents is to have clear, strict processes in place. The issue is many of these processes can become an administration burden on staff, taking far longer than they need to to complete.
Having a simple, centralised, and digitised system can help to transform any care home.

Customised checklists can be put together for tasks such as:

  • Food storage checks
  • Kitchen cleaning routines
  • Special diets and allergies
  • Residents’ mini-kitchens cleaning checks
  • Post-caring activities
  • Hand washing procedures

Once implemented into daily operations, staff can sign them off digitally within a matter of seconds, while assigning specific tasks to different carers and teams.

Automation can also play a huge part in care homes becoming more efficient. Smart sensors installed in fridges and freezers, to give an example, can automatically monitor temperatures every 30 minutes. If anything goes wrong, the relevant team members will receive immediate alerts. This eradicates the need for routine manual checks, freeing up staff to dedicate more time to interacting and caring for residents.

4, Staff Training Gaps

Keeping staff up-to-date and well-trained is a significant challenge. High staff turnover, varying skill levels, and constantly food safety regulations make it difficult to provide consistent, ongoing training – let alone finding the time for upskilling.

Anyone who handles or prepares food should have a Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate, while those who are responsible for managing food safety should have a Level 3 Food Hygiene Certificate. Allergen training is also recommended so that those with allergies can be safely catered for, with employees learning how to identify potential risks, and prevent cross-contamination.

Alongside the basic requirements, areas for improvement which staff may need refresher training on can be identified through internal audits. Proactive internal audits are essential for maintaining and improving care standards, allowing you to identify and address potential issues early, and to be audit ready all of the time. These audits should be thorough, covering all aspects of health and safety, including food safety.

If there are a number of areas for improvement, it’s best to put a detailed roadmap in place with priorities, timelines, and resource allocations.

As with any change, staff need to be informed. They should have an understanding of why the change has happened along with the specifics on what has changed. If there’s a complete overhaul from paper to digital, make sure employees are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to use the new systems, and know who to speak to if they have any issues with the platform. They should feel confident in the benefits of the digital transformation and how it streamlines their daily tasks.

5, Difficulty in Meeting Food Safety Compliance

Food safety regulations are constantly evolving, and care homes must adapt to these changes to maintain compliance. However, staying on top of these can feel like an uphill battle for care home managers and staff as even a minor oversight could have significant consequences.

Care homes that fall short during an inspection will be branded as ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’. Even worse, they could face temporary or permanent closure, putting both their reputation and the well-being of residents at risk. 

In early 2024, a Huddersfield care home made the headlines after inspectors discovered high risk food – including cheese, yogurt, and cream – stored above 8C, and meat with ‘freezer burn’.

In addition, fridge temperature records indicated that fridges had been running above the legal temperature for at least three months, with “no records to show that any corrective action had been taken”.

Alongside internal audits, care homes may wish to opt for a third party auditing service. Navitas Safety offers both food safety and health and safety audits for care homes, ensuring settings are up to scratch with current regulations and are providing the highest standard of care.

Streamlining Daily Operations with Technology

Food safety in care homes is not just a regulatory requirement – it’s a fundamental promise of protection, care, and dignity for the elderly.

Technology is helping to reshape the industry by replacing redundant paper-based processes with digitised care home management solutions which make day-to-day tasks as streamlined and efficient as possible.

Having centralised solutions also ensures that everything is trackable, with instant, comprehensive oversight across care homes with multiple sites.

Navitas Safety has been supporting Borough Care with its food safety since 2021. Since becoming paper-free, Borough Care’s cooks save between one and one and a half hours daily by completing all necessary checks online. This equates to 40 hours per month per home, with cooks freed up to add more value to residents.

Check out our case study with Borough Care here, or get in touch with the team to learn how we can support your care home’s journey to food safety excellence.

Jonathan Finlay – Environmental Health Consultant and Client Services Team Lead at Navitas Safety.

Jonathan has over 7 years of experience in food, fire and H&S compliance and digital solutions. 

Passionate about helping businesses improve food and health & safety standards, he shares insights on industry trends, best practices, and regulatory updates.

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