3.

10 – Food and catering

Food and catering

(Reg. 3.2)
Basic requirements

• Food and drinking water must be of appropriate quality, nutritional value

and quantity, taking into account the requirements of the ship and the
differing cultural and religious backgrounds of seafarers on the ship.

• Food is to be provided free of charge to seafarers during the period of

engagement.

• Seafarers employed as ship’s cooks* with responsibility for preparing food

must be trained and qualified for their positions.

• Seafarers working as ship’s cooks must not be less than 18 years old
(Standard A3.2, paragraph 8).

• Frequent and documented inspections of food, water and catering facilities

are carried out by the master or a designate (Standard A3.2, paragraph 7).

* “Ship’s cook” means a seafarer with responsibility for food preparation

(Regulation 3.2, paragraph 3; Standard A3.2, paragraphs 3 and 4).

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 10. Food and catering – Regulation 3.2

A.3.2.2.a Verification that seafarers are provided with adequate, varied and
nutritious meals taking into account the differing cultural and religious
backgrounds;
Confirmation that provisions are in satisfactory condition with no spoilage or
unsanitary conditions in stowage or galley.

Document: Drinking water analysis, Menu records

Requirement: Each Member shall ensure that ships that fly its flag meet the
following minimum standard: food and drinking water supplies, having regard to
the number of seafarers on board, their religious requirements and cultural
practices as they pertain to food, and the duration and nature of the voyage, shall
be suitable in respect of quantity, nutritive value, quality and variety;

A.3.2.2. Verification that seafarers are provided with onboard food free of charge

Requirement: Seafarers on board a ship shall be provided with food free of

charge during the period of engagement.

A.3.2.2.b

GALLEYS

Confirmation that the catering equipment and facilities including food preparation
areas and galleys are in satisfactory condition and adequate for preparing hot
meals in all sea and weather conditions

Verification that the shielding devices of naked flames are satisfactory (if
applicable)

Verification that the stowage of LPG bottles is satisfactory

Verification of the galley's cleanliness, special attention being given on areas

around furniture and appliances which are not flush with walls and floors

Confirmation that furniture and accessories are made of a corrosion resistant

material.

Verification that the floor in galleys is in satisfactory condition and made of

impervious material

Verification that floor gutters and scuppers are in place and that water and grease
traps are in satisfactory condition.

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Verification that the area available for washing-up is provided with a sink and
supplied with hot and cold drinking water

Confirmation that the fresh water hose connexion available for washing down is
supplied.

Verification and test of the lighting and ventilation

Confirmation that grease traps in exhaust ducts, if any, are clean.

Confirmation that the lighting is satisfactory

DRY PROVISION STORE

Confirmation that spaces for the storage of provisions are in satisfactory condition,
clean and only used for that purpose

Verification that the insulation is maintained in satisfactory condition, if applicable.

Confirmation that shelves, bins and drawers are clean and in satisfactory condition

Verification and test of the lighting and ventilation

REEFER PROVISION STORES

Confirmation that refrigerated provision rooms are in satisfactory condition, clean

and only used for that purpose

Confirmation that the insulation, refrigeration arrangements and machinery are in

satisfactory condition and capable of maintaining the provisions at an adequate
temperature at all time

Confirmation that the lighting in the refrigerated chambers is satisfactory

Verification that the doors can be opened from inside spaces

Verification that the pushbutton installed inside the spaces activates an alarm
easily noticed by the crew, when applicable

FRESH WATER SUPPLY

Confirmation that drinking is available at galleys and near the crew mess room

Requirement: Each Member shall ensure that ships that fly its flag meet the
following minimum standards: the organization and equipment of the catering
department shall be such as to permit the provision to the seafarers of adequate,
varied and nutritious meals prepared and served in hygienic conditions;

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A.3.2.6 Confirmation that a dispensation has been issued, permitting the non-fully
qualified cook to serve in a specified ship for a specified limited period, if
applicable

Document: Cook dispensation

Requirement: In circumstances of exceptional necessity, the competent authority

may issue a dispensation permitting a non-fully qualified cook to serve in a
specified ship for a specified limited period, until the next convenient port of call or
for a period not exceeding one month, provided that the person to whom the
dispensation is issued is trained or instructed in areas including food and personal
hygene as well as handling and storage of food on board ship.

A.3.2.7 Confirmation that frequent and documented inspections are carried out
with respect to:
- the supplies of food and drinking water
- spaces and equipment used for the storage and handling of food and drinking
water
- galley and other equipment for the preparation and the service of meals

Document:Inspection record

Requirement: In accordance with the ongoing compliance procedures under Title

5, the competent authority shall require that frequent documented inspections be
carried out on board ships, by or under the authority of the master with respect to:
a) supplies of food and drinking water
b) all spaces and equipment used for the storage and handling of food and
drinking water; and
c) galley and other equipment for the preparation and service of meals

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 The following paragraph is a guideline intended to give additional
information to shipowners with the aim of establishing a simple and efficient
system for control and management of food and water onboard. Some
requirements are based on HACCAP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)
being an international standard specifying requirements for management of
activities related to food and water handling

Company documents

Food and water

To comply with the MLC regulation 3.2 – Food and Catering, §2 and §3 /
Standard. The requirements from the competent authority, as presented in the
DMLC Part 1, may differ from those expressed as shall always be taken as the
reference for compliance.

The shipowner / ship should file printed or electronic copies of orders /

invoices / receipts for food and drinking water supplies onboard, demonstrating
their full participation to the food and drink costs in order to comply with Reg. 3.2
§2.

To help the shipowner comply with the standards adopted by the competent
authorities, as presented in the DMLC Part 1, for the quality and quantity of food
and water onboard as required by the MLC 2006 Standard A.3.2 “Food and
Catering”, §1 and §2 (a) (b).

The shipowner / ship should file printed or electronic copies of the food
and drinking water consumption records. The provenance of food and water
should be mentioned. Forms similar to those provided in Annex I and Annex II may
be used A form similar to the one provided in Annex I may be used for this
purpose.

These records may be presented in terms of descriptive statistics so that

they provide a good / quick overview of the main trends regarding the different
periods of the year as well as the different categories of aliments.

The ship should keep a daily updated document describing the food and
water stocks along with the recommended consumption date for the perishable
food on board. A form similar to the one provided in Annex I may be used for this
purpose.

The ship should keep a monthly (or weekly) updated document describing
the stock review of chemicals required for water treatment and conditioning. A
form similar to the one provided in Annex I may be used for this purpose.

To help the shipowner comply with the standards adopted by the competent
authorities, as presented in the DMLC Part 1, for hygiene and food and water
safety as required by the MLC 2006 Standard A.3.2 “Food and Catering”, §2 (b).

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 The ship owner and ship should make available, as part of its Safety
Management System a food safety plan or equivalent document setting /
describing the policies, risk management programmes, rules, procedures and
other means engaged for food and water safety.

In the same way the ship owner and ship should make available a water
safety plan or equivalent (See section 2.1 for more information). There may be a
unique plan dealing with both food and water safety onboard.

The ship should make available onboard formatted documents for the
reporting of hygiene related observation/issues for food and water safety.

The shipowner / ship should file printed or electronic copies of the reports
dealing with hygiene related observations / issues in the view of enriching its
quality management system. Forms similar to the one provided in Annex III may
be used for this purpose.

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Maintenance / Inspection reports

To help the shipowner comply with the standards adopted by the competent
authorities, as presented in the DMLC Part 1, for the hygiene related inspections
as required by the MLC 2006 Standard A.3.2 “Food and Catering”, §7 (a), (b) and
(c).

As basic suggestion / general rule for the “frequent inspections” required

by the § 7 of Standard A.3.2. , weekly inspections should be adopted unless
otherwise specified by the requirements of the competent Authority as stated in
the DMLC Part 1.

Concerning the maintenance operations:

The ship should make available the maintenance plans for the galley, the
food and catering equipment, drinking water production, treatment, and distribution
systems.

The ship should keep record documents for the observations / issues
highlighted during the maintenance of the galley, the food and catering equipment,
drinking water production, treatment, and distribution systems (§ 7 (a), (b), (c)). A
form similar to the one provided in Annex III may be used for this purpose.

Maintenance operations mentioned in the recommendation above include

inspection, cleaning, flushing out, replacing items, for water tanks, filters, pumps,
calorifiers, pressure tanks, etc.

More precisely, some critical maintenance items such as water quality

analysis records / results (every 2 month, 6 months, after cleaning, 2 years,
depending on the type of analysis required) should be filed and made available.

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Certificates, attestations

Ship’s cook and catering personnel

To help the shipowner comply with the standards adopted by the competent
authorities, as presented in the DMLC Part 1, competences and qualifications of
ship’s cook and catering personnel as required by the MLC 2006 Standard A3.2,
§2, c) (for the catering personnel) and § 3 to 6 and 8 (for the ships’ cook).

The ship should have onboard training certificates for the cook and the
catering personnel that should comply with the flag states regulations issued by
one of the entities recognised by the competent authority or complying with the
requirements for issuance of recognised certificated.

Unless otherwise specified in the requirements of the competent authority

in DMLC Part 1: the certificates should show that the cook is at least 18 years old,
that he/she is fully qualified; and the training of cook and the catering personnel
should address the hygienic precautions for handling and preparing food as well
as maintaining the galley and catering equipment.

The shipowner may not be required to provide the aforementioned

certificates and attestations for the ship’s cook and catering personnel under
certain circumstances as defined by the competent authorities through the MLC
2006 Standard A3.2, §4 and 5:

“5. On ships operating with a prescribed manning of less than ten which, by virtue
of the size of the crew or the trading pattern, may not be required by the
competent authority to carry a fully qualified cook, anyone processing food in the
galley shall be trained or instructed in areas including food and personal hygiene
as well as handling and storage of food on board ship.

6. In circumstances of exceptional necessity, the competent authority may issue a

dispensation permitting a non-fully qualified cook to serve in a specified ship for a
specified limited period, until the next convenient port of call or for a period not
exceeding one month, provided that the person to whom the dispensation is
issued is trained or instructed in areas including food and personal hygiene as well
as handling and storage of food on board ship.”

Seafarers in charge of maintenance, inspection, etc. on hygiene facilities and

equipment related to food or water hygiene.

As far as hygiene is concerned, not only the cook and catering personnel should
be trained on food and water safety but also seafarers in charge of the
maintenance and inspection of facilities and equipment related to food and water
hygiene. The guidance below aims to help the shipowner comply with the
guideline B3.2.1, §2 (facilitation of the maintenance of a proper standard of
hygiene).

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The ship should have onboard training certificates for seafarers in charge of laying
or repairing pipes. The training should inter alia address the hygienic precautions
for the aforementioned activities, and the detection of the personal symptoms
indicating a potential waterborne disease.

The ship should have onboard training certificates for seafarers in charge
of inspecting the drums and pumps. The training should address the identification
of faults that may occur during these operations and may lead to a contamination
of the drinking water.

PREPARE PROCEDURES, TRAININGS, (PREVENTION) PLANS, POSTERS,

SIGNAGE, ETC.

Procedures, plans

Food and water safety plans, risk management

In order to fulfil the requirements of the competent authority about food

and water safety as defined in the DMLC Part 1 referring to MLC 2006 Standard
A3.2 and Guideline B3.2, the shipowner is encouraged to set / develop / adopt a
Food Safety Plan or Programme (FSP) as well as a Water Safety Plan (WSP) for
dealing with all health and safety issues associated with food and catering
onboard their ship(s). These plans are intended to provide the frameworks against
which to audit respectively food safety and water safety onboard.

The elements of these plans are presented in various reference

documents such as the Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality - Guide to Ship
Sanitation (See ‘References” section) from the World Health Organisation (WHO);
the ISO standard 22000 (See ‘References” section); or Bureau Veritas Guidance
Note NI516 entitled Health Onboard Manual. They are based on the Hazard
Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) approach.

The shipowner may use another formalised support than the two afore
mentioned programmes but in any case, it is recommended that it complies at
least with the following main principles from HACCP as presented in the WHO
guidelines (See ‘References” section):

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HACCP principles
Principle 1: Hazard analysis
Principle 2: Determine Control Points
Principle 3: Establish critical limits for each Critical Control Point (CCP)
Principle 4: Establish a monitoring system for each CCP
Principle 5: Establish corrective actions
Principle 6: Establish verification procedures
Principle 7: Establish documentation and record keeping

Example of risk control measures for food and water safety

The following sub-sections provide examples of typical useful risk control

measures that could be implemented in the food and water safety plans (see
above section 2.1.1), policies, procedures, requirements, guidelines, etc. as
quoted from the Annex of the standard ISO 22000 (see “References” section), and
the Codex Alimentarius (see “References” section).

Food and Water

As a general rule, a range of control measures that should be put in place

in the food and water safety management plans in order to reduce the risk of food
poisoning cover at least the three aspects below:
Personal Hygiene
Adequate and proper cleaning
Purchasing safe supplies and ensuring safe delivery

Food

The shipowner should have a food stock management plan for recording /
managing supplies versus consumptions and traceability of perishable food in
particular.
The shipowner should have written procedures for checking that short-life
perishable food, such as fruits and vegetables, expiry dates are checked on a daily
basis.

The shipowner / ship should have procedures for galley personnel to

check regularly the condition of door seals and closing devices as well as monitor
routinely temperature.The schedule for these checks may be an output of the ship
maintenance plans.
The shipowner should at least implement a range of control measures
covering:
Temperature control (keep food hot >63°C or cold <5°C)
Segregation of raw and cooked foods
Ensuring no risk of cross contamination via hands, cloths etc
Thorough cooking

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Water

The shipowner should have procedures for regular cleaning and visits of
drinking water tanks and to empty, clean, disinfect, and wash these tanks at least
once a year.
The ship owner should have procedures and instructions available for all elements
of the freshwater production, treatment and delivery system including filters,
pumps, calorifiers, pressure tanks etc to be inspected, cleaned, flushed out, or
items replaced where appropriate, according to the manufacturers instructions and
the planned maintenance system. As an example, there should be procedures and
instructions for personnel to use effectively boilers or other drinking water
treatment system. A non exhaustive list of parts that need to be maintained
regularly (monthly, 3 months, 6 months or yearly) would contain filters, UV
exposure area, calorifiers, shower heads fresh water hoses, and fresh water
storage tanks.

Posters, signs

Posters

Ship owners should have onboard posters, leaflets, etc published /

provided by the competent authority as recommended by the guideline B3.2.1, for
encouraging the use of anti bacterial hand cleaners, moisturising cream and
barrier creams to reduce the risk of skin infections particularly dermatitis and for
encouraging the catering staff to report symptoms of waterborne diseases.

The catering staff should have access to educative posters or leaflets

presenting the dangers associated with food allergies. Example of some problem
ingredients are peanuts, nuts, gluten, fish, soya, celery, mustard, sesame seeds
and sulphur dioxide. Same with the risk of allergen cross contamination in
situations where a seafarer has asked for food to be free of a certain ingredient
that they are allergic or intolerant to.

Signs / painting

To help the shipowner comply with the standards addressing hygiene and
ensuring practicable convenience in working arrangements adopted by the
competent authorities, as presented in the DMLC Part 1, as recommended by the
MLC 2006 Guideline B3.2.1, §2.

The ship owner / ship should put a visible sign saying ‘FOOD STORAGE
ONLY’ (or similar) on the doors of the food storage rooms.

The ship owner / ship should place a visible sign for ensuring that all
persons accessing the water tanks are aware of the restriction “POTABLE
WATER” or “DRINKING WATER ONLY”.

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 The ship owner / ship should label water distribution valves with
“DRINKING WATER” if there is a risk of confusion with a circuit of non potable
water.

The ship owner / ship should label potable water outlets with “POTABLE
WATER”. All non-potable outlets should be labelled “UNFIT FOR DRINKING”.

Generally, the ship owner / ship should implement a particular marking,

painting, labelling of the water circuit as advised by the WHO Guide to Ship
Sanitation (Food safety): potable water piping should be painted blue or striped
with light blue bands or a light blue stripe at fittings on each side of partitions,
decks and bulkheads and at intervals not exceeding 5 m in all spaces except
where the décor would be marred by such markings. Regarding the piping, if the
direction of flow is important, this shall be shown by means of an arrow pointing in
the respective direction.

PREPARE EQUIPMENT AND ROOMS (CHECK, INSPECT)

The MLC 2006 Standard A3.2 §7 prescribes frequent documented inspections on

board ships with respect to food and water supply and storage as well as the
galley and catering equipment. The guidance provided in Section 3 aims to help
the shipowner comply with this paragraph by providing recommendations for the
routine checks to be done by the shipowner, the regular inspections and the
design of the food and water related spaces and equipment onboard.

Checks

The ship owner should check a certain number of items dealing with:
Food and water storage conditions
Food and water storage facilities
Catering equipment
Drinking water system equipment

Inspection

Drinking water system

Backflow preventers for potable water systems are critical parts (in terms
of potential consequences in terms of failure). The ship owner should have
procedures for inspection and service in accordance with the manufacturer
instructions and as necessary to provide the device’s failure:
Regular checks and tests on the adequacy of backflow prevention devices,
possible cross connection points, leaks, defective pipes, pressure and disinfectant
residuals. This may be best covered as part of a comprehensive sanitary
inspection programme.

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Water quality

The ship owner /ship should ensure that water quality inspection are
regularly carried out:
As a guideline, the ship owner may use the following requirements:

A complete analysis of the water should be performed when the ship

enters into service, before running installations. A complete analysis comprises the
items of the routine analysis in which microbiological and physico-chemical
parameters are tested, plus complementary items in which chemical and
radioactivity indicating parameters are tested [references from the EU or WHO
precising the analyses].

Periodic analyses should be then undergone as follows:

- A routine water analysis, completed by a metal analysis (lead, copper, nickel) as
well as free chlorine analysis every 6 months, if the flow is below 10 m3/day, every
4 months if the flow is comprised between 10 m3/day and 100 m3/day, every 2
months if the flow is comprised between 100 m3/day and 1000 m3/day, and after
every cleaning operation, visits or repair operations on tanks.
- This analysis should be completed by a complimentary analysis every 2 years if
the flow is below 100m3/day and every year if the flow is above 100 m3/day

The sample should be taken from a valve used for human consumption

When a boiler or any other treatment system is or may be used to produce

drinking water, their aptitude should be verified during the ships entry into service,
after every important repair operation (complete water analysis), and periodically
as defined before.

The shipowner / ship should check that chemicals required for water
treatment and conditioning are boarded in sufficient quantities and that the
equipment for controlling hardness and alkalinity of water is on board.
Heterotrophic Plate Counts (HPCs) can be used as an indicator of general water
quality within the distribution system. An increase in HPC indicates either post-
treatment contamination, regrowth within the water conveyed by the distribution
system or the presence of deposits and biofilms in the system. A sudden increase
in HPCs above historic baseline values should trigger actions to investigate and, if
necessary, remediate the situation.

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The design

The design of the ships shall comply will all regulations as required by the
competent authorities. However a certain number of very simple design
arrangements for places and equipment onboard where hygiene is particularly
critical, should be implemented by the shipowner.

Galley

The ship owner should provide floors (decks) with an easy-to-clean fabric.

The ship owner should provide effective water evacuation (drainage)

arrangements regarding the necessity of frequent cleaning of the galley.

The ship owner should provide dedicated hand wash basins with provision
for soap and towels for the use of the catering staff.

The ship owner should provide dedicated sinks for food preparation and
equipment washing.

Drinking water system

The ship owner should provide drinking water tanks with an air pipe that
no foreign matter/body, or plug drain can be introduced.

When potable water is delivered to non-potable systems and supplied

under pressure, the ship owner should provide a protection against backflow by
either backflow preventers or air gaps.

The ship owner should provide drinking water tanks with an opening large
enough to allow somebody to enter and clean these tanks. This opening shall be
arranged in order to be vacuum-tight closed between two visits

The ship owner should provide sounding means that shall not contaminate
water

The ship owner should provide every water tank with a filling line to which
a hose can be attached. This line should not be cross-connected with any line of a
non-potable water system. Each line should be clearly identified as such and
painted blue with a screw cap or plug fastened by a short chain so that the cap
does not touch the deck when hanging free

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