21/06/2017

This week’s ‘Hottest day of the year’ headlines have – as ever – been the signal for the release of a torrent of literature on how to cope with excessive heat at work, at home and at leisure.

Publication of these hot-weather handbooks unfortunately usually coincides with the end of the heatwave, although they still contain useful tips and information for future reference. Here are additions to the genre from two impeccable sources.

In ‘Hot weather Working in hot temperatures’, Acas points out that certain workers may be particularly affected by the heat and includes special measures to help them cope among its ‘top tips’ for maintaining productivity.

  • Employers should consider providing vulnerable workers such as pregnant women, elderly employees and people on medication with fans or portable air conditioning units and giving them more frequent breaks.
  • Muslims observing Ramadan by fasting through the daylight hours could be helped by holding meetings in the morning when their energy levels are highest or by temporarily changing working hours.

The top tips also cover dress codes, getting into work, ensuring workers remain hydrated and the importance of adequate ventilation.

For those fortunate enough to be able to be able to head for the coast or countryside for the day, the Food Standards Agency has published two guides on dealing with the risks inherent in picnics, barbecues and generally handling food in hot weather

‘Your definitive guide to safe summer food’ places the actions necessary to help you enjoy picnics and barbecues without any adverse after-effects this summer into 4 categories

  • chilling and defrosting
  • cooking
  • cleaning
  • avoiding cross-contamination

As an incentive to be sensible, it adds details of four summer food bugs:– campylobacter, salmonella, listeria and E.coli.

‘Keeping food safe at a picnic’ reminds us how easy it is to let good hygiene practice slip when you are on holiday and offers simple tips to keep food safe when you are ‘out and about’

  • rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water before packing them in a cool box
  • place cold food in a cold box with ice or frozen gel so they are stored at or below 5 deg C
  • pack drinks in one cool box and perishable foods in another
  • keep the cool box closed
  • pack away your picnic: dishes should not sit out for longer than 2 hours so packing it away stops people ‘nibbling’