Food Hygiene

1. For full Paperwork and documentation requirements, please visit our Paperwork page here: https://www.vegfest.co.uk/vegfestuk-brighton-2023-paperwork/
2. You must be registered with your local council, and ensure you have your documented food safety system, insurance (with PLI covering up to £2M for Brighton 2023 and £5M for London 2023) and all training records for staff with you and available for inspection. Staff working at catering stands must submit their food safety training records at least 2 months before the date of the event.
3. All catering staff must use sneeze screens or plastic guards to prevent any food or heating equipment from being open to the public.
4. All deep-frying equipment must be placed at the back, rather than the front, of catering stands. Any other cooking (eg griddles) must be done at least 1 metre away from the public or behind suitable safety guards (consider child and adult safety heights).
5. Any chopping activity (like chopping up coconuts) must take place to the rear of your stall, not to the front / aisle.
6. Every caterer must have a handwashing machine with running water at their stands. That includes liquid soap and disposable towels. Please note: boilers and bowls of water are not sufficient. Running (and draining) water of suitable temperature must be available in your handwash facility.
7. Every caterer that is cooking must have a working, in-date and appropriate fire extinguisher to hand.
8. All staff at catering stands must wear separate gloves to handle food and money.
9. Gas or naked flames, or chaffing fuel are strictly prohibited.
10. Caterers must ensure their staff are aware of and trained in allergen requirements and appropriate signage is displayed on your stand for the public. All food samples must have the 14 major allergens clearly displayed. Failure to comply could result in any catering operations involved being shut down on the day.
11. We have a number of requests each event for gluten-free food – please advertise your gluten-free food clearly on your stall if you have gluten-free options.
12. Please bring rubbish sacks, hand wash, gloves, washing up liquid, etc. Note: the venue does not accept waste in black bin liners. Waste should be in clear bags, widely available online, in supermarkets etc.
13. Please make sure NOT to block the sinks at the Water Point of the venue with any food waste. City Harvest will be on hand to help re-home edible food waste post-event.
14. Please make sure to have suitable facilities for temperature control for your food.
15. Staff eating on your stand is not permitted.
16. Off-duty staff should not be eating at their food stands.
17. Food should not be stored on or near the exhibition floor.
18. Caterers are advised to have less food on display and more food covered to avoid food attracting dust during the show.
19. Hot drinks must be served in sturdy containers fitted with lids to avoid risk of spillage. Note: All hot drinks must be pre-approved for the event by VegfestUK.
20. Staff working at catering stands must have their hair tied back to avoid cross contamination.
21. All caterers must keep their work surfaces clean and tidy throughout the event opening hours.
22. There are no facilities for cooking oil disposal on site, so please make sure to take away any leftover cooking oils from the venue after the event. No cooking oils should be poured into the sinks in the kitchen.
23. Sinks provided at the water point are for equipment wash up only – they are not for hand washing.
24. As mentioned in point 18 – caterers/exhibitors are not permitted to sell hot drinks at the event unless specifically agreed with the VegfestUK team ahead of time.

Health & Safety

1. All caterers must keep their items (including pop-up banners) within the footprint of their stands.
2. All caterers should bring steps with them if they want to fix items over head-height and should not stand on tables, chairs etc.
3. All caterers must refrain from storing items behind their stands or in unused spaces.
4. Ladders must not be used during show opening hours when members of the public are in the exhibition halls.

Electricity

Below is a list of measures that are required to ensure that we limit the number of instances of lost power, as this will have an impact on your sales as well as other exhibitors in the immediate vicinity. In the case where a caterer has not booked sufficient power and has not used the statements below as a checklist before the event, it can be very difficult to ascertain which stall in a group is the origin of the problem, the solution to which is time consuming and will likely impact on those that have followed the policies and procedures correctly.

• All caterers must check the start up and cruising wattage of their electrical appliances. For example an appliance could have a cruising wattage of 2.8kW, which is suitable for a 3kW (3000 watts) power socket, but the appliance may require a 3.8kW start up power supply. If a 3kW socket has been ordered the power is insufficient to start up the appliance and the power supply will be cut off at the RCD box located on the stand. Multiple appliances starting up with insufficient power will terminate power to the venue mains supply and all stands served by that supply.
• Under no circumstances are exhibitors permitted to interfere with the power supply. This includes the RCD box installed by our electrical contractors Moyne to each stand and the venue mains supply box. Power and sockets will be removed to any stand that is found to have done this. Power failure must be reported to the Information Desk during open hours. The standby electrician will then attend.
• To ensure that sufficient power is ordered exhibitors must either refer to the manufacturers handbook / contact the manufacturer direct. In the case of hired equipment, ensure the hirer provides all relevant power supply information. The electrical contractors, Moyne, can provide advice, however they are not responsible for or liable for guaranteeing the power supplies of exhibitor’s appliances.
• Caterers who have not ordered sufficient power for their appliance(s) will be required to:
  • Uprate their power supply at the site order surcharge rate of 20%. This can be done at the Moyne service desk during the build period or via contacting the Moyne office on 0208 997 8596 during the open period. In both instances full payment must be made via card payment prior to the power being uprated
  • OR hand over appliances that exceed the power supply ordered. The Organisers reserve the right to confiscate equipment until the end of the show should exhibitors persist in plugging in condemned appliances.
• Each caterer must submit a picture of the layout of all their equipment before the event.
• Each caterer must submit proof that all their electrical equipment has been PAT tested within 12 months of the show. Please note: this is a legal requirement and this will be strictly enforced before trading commences.
• All catering appliances must arrive on Friday (setup) to allow time for inspection of electrical equipment and power usage. This is to avoid caterers arriving just before show opening powering up simultaneously and a series of electrical mains supply failures occurring during prime sales time.
• All electrical equipment must also be inspected during setup on Saturday between 8am – 9am, with electrical equipment switched on by 9am Saturday, and all catering staff must be present during this time slot to ensure swift inspections before the show opens. Staff must be present whilst equipment is checked.
• All caterers must avoid the use of over-length leads or trailing electrical cables. Electric cables should not be “daisy–chained” (multiple extension leads connected to each other).
• Extension lead cables must not exceed 2 metres with a maximum of 4 sockets. Coiled / drum extension leads are NOT permitted.
• All caterers should have a contingency plan to be able to continue serving to the public in case of any power cuts.

Environmental Policy

• Waste disposal: Olympia London is signed up to the Courtauld commitment 2025.  They separate food waste and are carefully working to reduce food waste by 50% by 2025.  All non-edible food waste must be segregated into food waste receptacles using composable bags, and edible food waste should be donated or taken away. City Harvest have a presence at VegfestUK London 2022 and will be on hand to help re-home edible food waste post-event.

• Caterers should aim to separate and dispose of rubbish and recycling properly before, during and after the show. We suggest separating your rubbish, food waste, cardboard and plastics at your stall to make disposing of these materials in the right place easier.
• Caterers should aim to remove the use of plastic wherever possible, and utilise biodegradable options:

1. Green Man Packaging – All of their products are certified 100% compostable and are made from plants, not plastic. They offer exclusive discounts to food traders on their packaging, as well as free delivery, manufacturers guarantees on all products and full support from their friendly and knowledgeable team. 020 7183 8962, company website
2. Vegware is a company that manufactures biodegradable ‘throw away’ cutlery and boxes for serving food in, which we would encourage any caterers or food-sellers who are not already investing in something similar to consider doing so.  Company website

• We are also encouraging visitors to bring their own utensils to use, to reduce waste, and request that caterers cooperate where possible with any requests from public to use their own utensils.