The law requires food premises, and sanitary accommodation within food premises, to have suitable and sufficient means of natural or mechanical ventilation.


Food Preparation Rooms

Lack of proper ventilation presents a number of problems:

Ventilation systems in catering premises generally consist of an extraction fan located within a canopy to remove air, steam and grease laden fumes and incorporate suitable grease filters which can be removed for cleaning. Air intake is either through opening windows and doors or via an air intake point with a filtering system incorporated.

It will be necessary to match the ventilation system to the cubic capacity of the room to maintain a balance between, sufficient air being extracted and a constant supply of fresh air intake. Excessive extraction of air will prevent equipment such as gas cookers operating efficiently, and excessive air intake will reduce the efficiency of the extraction system. It is recommended that there are at least 30 air changes per hour. The ambient temperature of the kitchen should be less than 25°C. A ventilation engineer should be consulted for advice on a suitable system.

Canopies should be positioned over cookers, deep fat fryers and dish washing machines where they will be most effective. It is advisable that extraction systems are located on outside walls to prevent the use of lengthy ducting systems. It may also be necessary to install ducting on the outside of the building. This may require planning permission.

Ventilation systems, particularly extraction units must be kept in a clean condition. They should be designed for easy access and/or dismantling to facilitate cleaning and maintenance. Grease filters will require cleaning at least weekly in busy premises. Where there is a high production of grease from deep fat fryers, cleaning may be required more frequently.


Dry Good Stores

The law requires that foods are stored at suitable temperatures.

High ambient temperatures and high humidity, which are conducive to mould growth and detrimental to the quality of the food, should be avoided in dry goods stores. Such stores should be kept cool and well ventilated.

The means of ventilation can be either natural, by the use of an air brick, or mechanical via a suitable extractor fan. The aperture of the fan should not allow free access to flying insects.


Sanitary Accommodation

The law requires that sanitary accommodation within food premises are provided with natural or mechanical ventilation.

All sanitary accommodation must be ventilated by natural or mechanical means to prevent, as far as possible, aerosols and offensive odours from permeating food rooms.


This Guidance Sheet contains basic information only. For more detailed and authoritative advice you should refer to the relevant Industry Guide to Good Hygiene Practice available from the Environmental Health Department on 823000.