Introduction to the Audit Module

The audit was conducted to verify and assess the existence of pests on the walls and the floor of Hilton Hotel, located in Neville Street. The audit focused on the nature of hygiene in the various parts of the hotel, with the key focus being on pests and pest control measures adopted by the hotel. Additionally the key focus of the audit was on the hotel safety, cleanliness and hygiene with a focus being on the state of the walls of the hotel. The main audit was conducted in the kitchen as the eatery is much cleaner and even highly classy. Most audits were not conducted on the exterior nor the restaurant, but rather the soul of the hotel which is the kitchen. For the research the Hilton hotel previous audit indicated that they were completely compliant with the requirements of the audit and the audit results were satisfactory.

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to assess the hygiene and nature of the walls in question for the entire research. The focus was primarily on not only the cleanliness of the walls and floor and the kitchen area in general, but rather the focus was on the primary objectives which were on the compliance of the walks and floors in terms of both appearance and pests. The focus thus is on the existence of cracks along the walls and floor of the kitchen since these are good breeding grounds for the pests and vermin in the kitchen areas, the main sources of food and leftovers.

Another critical area assessed in the audit is the garbage area. Assessing the overall hygiene of the garbage and the existence of pest and rats within the hotel kitchen are areas of assessment. The modifications made by the hotel manager to alter the status quo of the existence of vermin to be minimized while the hygienic nature of the hotel improves were also assessed. As such, the audit hence concentrates mainly on existence of pests within a given context while simultaneously assessing the functionality of the hotel in maintaining high quality services for the customers.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this audit, students will have the capacity to

• Will understand what is needed in the process of conducting a food and hygiene audit
• Will understand the key areas of assessment when dealing with food audits, enabling them to both run successful restaurants or conduct audits professionally by the end of the learning process
• Will have the experience required before completing the course hence enabling them to be exposed on the key areas required during the assessment of audits in restaurants.
• Will understandthe basic process of conducting an audit, and the key areas and framework areas that need to be assessed critically.
• Be aware of the interventions and recommendations required to be made in areas where the hotel or restaurant being assessed will need to focus on when conducting such audits.

Core Skills and Competencies

1. Application and Reflection skills
2. Group & Interpersonal Skills
3. Analysis and Synthesis
4. Organisation and Planning
5. Interdisciplinary and Professional Skills
6. Communication skills when dealing with clients or audit candidates
7. Critical understanding of government and health organization regulation of the entire process

The Audit Framework

There are several areas that are going to be assessed throughout the audit. The concentration concentrates on various features which include the focus on the problems within the hotel, the assessment of the audit results from the perspective of compliance with the set requirements and finally the assessment of the overall performance and performance of the business in question.

• Checking of existing records
• Pest control records and evidence assessment
• Temperature and environment audit and assessment
• Hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) compliance and assessment of critical control points.
• Contamination risk management assessment
• Cleaning process and schedule assessment
• Training compliance with hotel and restaurant requirements
• Traceability or hygienic history assessment
• Storage and preparation compliance
• Safety compliance in the handling of food
• Structural and equipment compliance

Pest Control

Garbage Bin

The first assessment made on the Hilton Hotel was the assessment of the influence of pests on the hygiene of the area. As mentioned, the concentration was on the walls and floors of the hotel. The garbage bin was the first consideration. Hilton Hotel Leeds had placed their garbage on the ground floor of the building to control pests and rats from entering the business. With the garbage placed on the ground floor, there is minimal possibility of the entire building getting invested with pests. This assisted in the control and management of the in-house and external pests. It ensured that if there are in house pests, they would be limited to a given geographic span which is in the exterior of the building whereas it kept the external pests out of the building. The area around the bin was also maintained in a clean and orderly manner, which hence meant that there was a possibility of absenteeism in the existence of pests within the building.

Walls and Floor Condition

On the walls, there were several cracks which provided excellent breeding ground for pests. The broken parts of the floor as well also broken and this also created nice hiding places and habitats for pests. The broken walls and floor seemed like a great concern until we questioned the contact person who confirmed that despite the fact that cracks and broken areas within the restaurant, which are evidence of existence of pests in the hotel, there had been no signs of a pest in the hotel for a very long time. The assurance however, could be skewed or biased to ensure that the hotel remains in a positive light but a thorough investigation of the same revealed the same. Though an electrical pest killer was found in the region, which lessened the possibility of the existence of pests, some food was still found on the floor and this thus meant that there was a high possibility that pests, if not already in the building, unless the issue was tackled in a timely manner, would soon exist in the area.

Temperature Logs

The maintenance of temperature at an all time low has been noted to have some critical issues associated with pests. As such, the maintenance and management of the temperature is crucial for any given business or organization that aims at minimizing pests and their existence in the organization. However, the organization had a breakfast fridge which did not have the necessary temperature measurement tools or probes that could come in handy in situations such as these. Regardless, in the case of the management of the food, a digital temperature probe, known as the thermocable probe was used to record the temperatures of the food being stored as well as those being cooked, cooled, reheated, thawed and even being served with an excellent record of the temperatures being stored in a nice retrievable file. The temperature probe was cleaned regularly using water, and with it being water resistant, this was the appropriate medium for keeping it clean and functional. For the heating process temperature checks were conducted. At times they were not accurate, hence calling for visual checks. This thus shows the temperature checks though conducted severally would result in incorrect results.

HACCP Systems

A Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points is a preventative system which has been developed to control and manage the health of people through assessment and elimination of the various hazardous threats towards the biological, chemical and physical hazards during any food processing process. HACCP is a respected system in most kitchens and the Hilton Hotel in Leeds had the utmost respect of the system. The HACCP file was always filled and completed in a timely manner, which thus shows that most of the hotel’s processes are governed and controlled by the organization. This is the key reason that the organization has a 5 star rating since its concentration on hygiene and its abiding nature to the business is equally crucial towards the success of the organization, and the safety of its clients.

Frequency of the Hazard Assessment

One of the key strengths of the organization is its ability to abide by the set standards on hazard assessment. Their hazard assessment was done periodically, four times during every assessment to ensure that all hazards were outlined and thoroughly covered. Additionally, the hotel equally engaged in rat control measures, which led them to repaint the cover on their walls several times. Additionally, several other measures such as the repairing parts of the floor and the walls was evident in the area. As such, despite the fact that the organization focuses primarily on the overall well being of the food, the structural assessments have also been put into deep consideration.  However, one minor issue was assessed which was the presentation of a label on the wall which showed the various features of the hotel such as the overall assessment of the temperature shows a wrong misinterpretation of the temperature for red hot products.

Menu

The menu of the hotel was long and there were a range of products and foods being offered by the business. These ranged from variations in the meat to desserts. This thus meant that the hotel had to have a critical and excellent sanitation assessment system. There are several monitors in the are who followed all hygiene protocols for sanitation ensuring that the hygiene was maintained at a peak position. Additionally, the corrective actions taken to correct mistakes are highly advocated for all around the Hilton Hotel and as such, they are readily acceptable, provided such mistakes are not made a second time.

History

In the past, the Hilton Hotel has had some pathogens and bacteria such as salmonella due to improperly washed hands and the lack of temperature monitoring in the preservation of highly perishable products and high risk foods such as fruits and vegetables. Strict corrective measures however, were implemented to ensure that this never happened ever again. Currently, the assessment of the temperature and the mandatory cleaning of hands are two main priorities the Hilton hotel has adopted in the past few years since the incidence.

Menu Capacity

HiltonHotel is a big and very sizeable. The servings range from 400 to 500 servings per day during normal days. However, the hotel industry is a seasonal industry and as such there have been several incidenceswhere the hotel has served as more as 1500 meals per day. One of the key considerations made by the hotel is that they understand that their clientele ranges to even vulnerable groups such as the people with highly sensitive stomach linings, who are prone food poisoning and the likes.

Cleaning Schedules

A formally written cleaning schedule was properly developed and published. The main concentration was in the kitchen area which thus made it highly effective. Dishes are washed by the dishwasher but in incidences where the dishwasher was broken then dishes are washed by hands. Another critical area of assessment is the hazard posed by the cleaning chemicals, which could lead to food contamination. Additionally the dish dryer also had elements of left over foods, which thus mean that the dishes were not always properly washed or rinsed and this is a critical health assessment area that needs to be assessed as well. The cleaning schedule thus can be one of the major fails that the Hilton hotel scored during this assessment.

Training

The Hilton Hotel engages in a two week training session held once a month, which concentrates on education on the safety practice, serving food as well as the preparation of food. These sessions are taught only once to employees who have not had the training administered to them in the past, which is thus a repetitive training that is used to acquaint all new employees to the food safety in the area. On completion of the training session, all candidates receive relevant certificates.

Traceability

The hotel has an excellent system for tracing recipes and the expiration dates through the use of products codes to manage the product effectively. This system makes the organization not only reliable but also one of the critical systems which thus makes the hotel increasingly trustable.

Storage, Preparation, Cooking, Serving and Cleaning

End to end supply management solutions and project management services by linking owners with suppliers that meet or exceed brand operations standards and specifications. In relation to storage, there are several storage spaces in the kitchen and the official storage room. Chilled vegetables are stored in a separate space, and so is the meat. The meat in the meat storage was all fresh and also well stored which thus shows the respect for utmost hygiene from the organization’s management. The storage also adopted a storage model where first in were the first out. Their inventory management strategies are remarkable and highly effective. Regardless there was some tampering with the products such as modified expiration dates and temperature checks were not applied which was a marginally big fail. The separation of the foods was not only evident in the storage but also with the preparation process.

Personal Hygiene

In relation the personal hygiene, one of the key areas that can be noted from the staff is that they were not all compliant since not all of them wore hand gloves or hats, which is highly unhygienic. For other, the uniforms and the hats were not maintained in a clean and orderly manner which is highly sensitive for a field such as food safety. Another critical area assessed in this context is the fact that chopping boards and knifes were not always clean to be used. The fact that cleaning is at times done solely when the need for the products arises, shows a highly inefficient system of the organization.

Structural Safety

The floor and the walls in various areas such as the storage areas were cracked and broken. Efforts however have been made modification in the kitchen area for instance which show areas of renovation to reduce the capacity of the area getting pests. Floor to ceiling coating paintings are evident all through the kitchen area which thus advocates for reduced cases of threats and suchlike issues. The lighting was also highly compliant with the set strategies of the organization, whereas the other areas that were also assessed included the ventilation for the kitchen equipment. Anotherarea that has to be addressed was the fact that some of the areas had no bulbs or much dimmer lighting and thus this needs to be revisited. The drainage systems were all extremely compliant with all sinks and toilets working effectives. The storage areas needed little if any modifications as they were all in pristine condition.

Equipment Compliance

The storage of equipment was highly compliant. However, one of the critical areas of assessments that needs to be assessed is the storage of cutlery and other sharp objects since knives, food slicers and dishes which have been used for a long period of time and traces of rust on the knifes which posses a critical challenge to food contamination.

Conclusion

Hilton Hotel is compliant with various requirements but not all of he requirements. With a little change in the focus of the organization such as the establishment of cleaner walls and reduced cracks on the walls, several cleaning routines and with all that the hotel would be completely compliant. The structural analysis for instance shows that the business focuses primarily on the development of a positive reputation as well as compliance to health and hygiene. Despite the few mishaps, the business is hygienically compliant.

References

Corrigendum to Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption (Official Journal of the European Union L 139 of 30 April 2004).

Corrigendum to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (Official Journal of the European Union L 139 of 30 April 2004).

Corrigendum to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (Official Journal of the European Union L 139 of 30 April 2004).

REGULATION (EC) No 178/2002 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 28 January2002. Official Journal of the European Communities.

Food Law Code of Practice (England). (April 2014). Parliament pursuant to section 40(1) of the Food Safety Act 1990, regulation 24(1) of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 and regulation 6(1) of the Official Feed and Food Controls (England) Regulations 2009.

Regulation (Ec) No 852/2004 Of The European Parliament And Of The Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs. Corrigendum to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (Official Journal of the European Union L 139 of 30 April 2004).

Official Journal of the European Communities L 31/1 I (Acts whose publication is obligatory) REGULATION (EC) No 178/2002 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 28 January2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food SafetyAuthorityand laying down procedures in matters of food safety.

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