GB/T 44141-2024Central kitchen - Specifications for operation and management (English PDF)

3 Terms and definitions

3.1 central kitchen: a business entity established by a food business operator, holding its own premises and facilities and equipment, that centrally completes the preparation of finished or semi-finished food and delivers it to the chain outlets of the same organisation, which prepare it further before supplying it to consumers.

3.2 semi-finished products: food not eaten directly, obtained after preliminary or partial processing of raw material and still needing further processing. A note excludes stored food that has already been processed into a finished product.

4 Basic principles

4.1 A sound system of rules for production, business and management shall be set up and kept in force.

4.2 A sound food safety management system shall be set up, the food safety responsibility system shall be applied, and a dynamic mechanism for preventing and controlling food safety risk shall be established.

4.3 A policy against food waste shall be drawn up. New technology, new processes and new equipment should be used to raise food quality and freshness, and loss and waste of ingredients shall be controlled at the purchasing, processing, storage and delivery stages.

4.4 Cost planning shall be part of the management outlook. An information-based operating model should be used so that quality and cost, and delivery and inventory, are balanced and controlled as a whole.

4.5 The generation of kitchen waste and the discharge of waste gas and wastewater shall be supervised. Biodegradation techniques should be used to treat kitchen waste.

5 Facility and equipment management

5.1 General. Containers, tools and equipment used in food processing shall comply with GB 31654. A hygiene management system for the premises, facilities and equipment shall be set up and applied, with detailed records. An equipment file shall be kept, recording the name, specification, model, number, date of manufacture, date and place of use, and maintenance and overhaul of each item. Equipment with a high heat value and low energy consumption shall be chosen.

5.2 Equipment, tools and containers. Thawing, washing and disinfection equipment matched to the processing capacity and meeting food safety requirements shall be provided and arranged in process order. Equipment, tools and containers in contact with food shall be made of food-grade material able to withstand repeated washing and disinfection and shall be easy to clean and maintain. Their surfaces shall be smooth, their design and construction should keep parts, metal swarf and other contaminants out of the food, and they shall be easy to inspect and maintain.

Containers, tools and equipment used for raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products shall be clearly distinguishable and shall be kept and used separately. Processing tools and containers shall be separated between raw and cooked, clearly marked, cleaned after use and stored in fixed places. Tools and containers holding cooked food shall be disinfected before and after use.

Specialized zones and food packaging rooms that need freezing or chilling facilities shall have their own. Water in direct contact with finished product shall pass a water purification and disinfection facility. Cooling and packaging of food shall be carried out with dedicated facilities or in a dedicated processing room; a cooling specialized zone shall be fitted with rapid cooling, sterilisation and temperature indication devices.

Waste shall be held in dedicated covered containers by category, without being left exposed, allowed to build up or overflow, and the outside of the container shall be clean. Cleaning and disinfection equipment and tools shall be kept in a dedicated place under proper care and clearly marked.

6 Business and processing chain

6.1 General. The chain shall comply with GB 14881, GB 31621, GB 31654 and GB/T 40040. A quality control system for the processing chain shall be set up, and visual on-site management should be used to control, supervise and appraise the key steps. Information systems shall be used for order-driven precise purchasing and unified processing and delivery, and the information system shall be aligned with the processing and delivery systems. Rules on the use and management of food additives shall be set up in accordance with GB 2760.

6.2 Purchasing and acceptance of raw and auxiliary materials. A purchasing plan shall be drawn up from the production plan, and a supplier selection system for food, food additives and food-related products shall be set up and applied, with long-term cooperation with good suppliers and dedicated supply bases preferred. Quality acceptance shall be carried out before goods enter the store, and the supplier's licence and qualification certificates, product conformity certificates, the filing information collection form for sellers of pre-packaged food only, and purchase invoices shall be checked and kept. Systems for supplier admission, evaluation and exit shall be set up, and the certificates obtained shall be sorted and filed by supplier name or material type and kept for the required period.

6.3.1 Primary processing. Raw materials shall be sorted, thawed, washed or dried, peeled and disinfected as needed, and spoiled raw material shall not be used. Frozen raw material shall be thawed by a method suited to its character, variety and quantity, and chilled or thawed material shall be processed promptly. Livestock and poultry, fruit and vegetables, and aquatic products shall be washed and stored in separate areas. Environmental temperature and handling time shall be controlled during primary processing and curing of perishable food. Cutting and portioning of food eaten directly shall be carried out in a specialized zone. Cut and prepared semi-finished products shall be stored by character, use and storage condition and effectively separated from raw material.

6.3.2 Heat processing. The centre temperature and heating time shall be settled from the character of the food and the process. When cooked vegetable products are processed the centre temperature shall be above 75 degrees Celsius and when cooked meat products are processed it shall be above 85 degrees Celsius; where the centre temperature is below 70 degrees Celsius, the safety of the raw material shall be controlled or other measures taken to secure food safety. The formation of harmful substances during heat processing shall be controlled, and the quality and safety of frying oil shall comply with GB 2716. Cooked food shall be stored apart from raw material and semi-finished products.

6.3.3 Cooling and hot holding. Perishable food after heat processing and ready-to-eat food needing cooling shall be cooled in rapid cooling equipment or a cooling specialized zone; the rapid cooling equipment or cooling specialized zone for ready-to-eat food shall be dedicated and shall not be used for cooling heat-processed semi-finished products, and the use of the specialized zone shall comply with GB 31654. The centre temperature shall be controlled and recorded at the start and the end of cooling. Heat-processed ready-to-eat food shall be held above 60 degrees Celsius for not more than 2 hours.

6.3.4 Packaging and labelling. Ready-to-eat and perishable food shall be packaged in a specialized zone. Portioning or packaging of raw semi-finished products, heat-processed semi-finished products and ready-to-eat food shall be carried out separately. Packaging and logistics method shall be chosen to suit the food. Food packaging and containers shall meet the food safety requirements, and the packaging, storage and transport markings shall comply with GB/T 191. The package shall carry the name of the central kitchen, the food name, how it is to be eaten, the date of production, the storage conditions and the storage period. Cooked food that is not ready to eat shall be marked to the effect that it is to be heated before eating.

6.4.1 Inspection. A full acceptance and inspection system for raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products shall be drawn up. Standards and methods for quality acceptance and safety monitoring shall be set according to the character of the item, and the test methods and food safety indicators shall comply with the relevant national, sectoral, local or enterprise standards. Testing of food and of the processing environment shall be carried out in house or entrusted to a qualified third-party body. A unit that tests in house shall have a laboratory and the capability to match the items tested, and shall set the test items, indicators and frequency sensibly from the character of the food and the relevant standards.

6.4.2 Retained samples. A sample retention system shall be set up and samples kept promptly. Every batch and every variety of finished product shall be sampled. Retained samples shall be held according to their character in dedicated chilled or frozen equipment, the chilled temperature below 8 degrees Celsius and the frozen temperature not above minus 18 degrees Celsius; the quantity retained for each variety shall be not less than 125 grams; and the retention time shall reach the storage period and be not less than 48 hours. The package of a retained sample shall record in detail the food name, batch number, quantity retained, time of retention, the person retaining it and the person checking it. Retained samples shall be kept by a designated inspector, who checks them for change; where change is found, it shall be recorded, verified further and followed up, including by recall. Retained samples are discarded once the period expires.

6.5 Warehousing. A warehousing system shall be set up and food kept for the prescribed period and under the prescribed conditions. Chilled, frozen and ambient stores shall be set up separately by product type. Store capacity shall allow raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products to be stored separately or apart, enough racking shall be provided, and stored food shall be kept a suitable distance from walls and floor. Store temperature and humidity shall be monitored and recorded, the chilled store held at 0 degrees Celsius to 4 degrees Celsius and the frozen store below minus 18 degrees Celsius. Food raw materials, food additives and food-related products shall be used first in, first out; food additives shall be stored and used under a designated person who checks quality and hygiene regularly; spoiled or out-of-date raw materials, additives and related products shall be cleared promptly, marked and recorded.

6.6 Delivery. Closed dedicated frozen, chilled or insulated vehicles and dedicated sealed containers matched to the type and quantity of food shall be provided, and the internal material and construction of vehicles and containers shall be easy to clean and disinfect. A delivery system shall be set up, routes planned sensibly, and food delivered within the prescribed period and under the prescribed conditions. The temperature and route of the vehicle shall be monitored in real time during delivery and recorded. Chilled, frozen or hot-chain vehicles shall have the body pre-cooled or pre-heated before loading and shall reach the required temperature before the journey begins. Delivery vehicles shall be dedicated and shall not carry toxic, harmful or strong-smelling goods at the same time; they shall be kept clean and washed and disinfected before and after transport.

6.7 Handover. A handover system shall be set up and applied, and the handover environment and requirements for cold-chain food shall comply with GB 31605. Information technology should be used to confirm the type and quantity of food and to shorten the operation. At handover the ambient temperature of the transport equipment and the surface temperature of the outer case or inner packaging shall be checked and the full temperature record examined; where the temperature or the state of the food is abnormal, the goods shall not be accepted.

7 Safety and traceability

Control of contamination risk in the processing chain shall comply with GB 31654 and GB 14881.

A monitoring system for the key steps of the chain shall be set up from the character of the food and the safety requirements of processing and storage, applied properly and checked regularly, with problems corrected promptly.

Pest control measures shall be drawn up, applied and checked regularly. Processing workshops and stores shall have effective measures against the entry of rodents and insects, such as screens, netting, rodent boards, fly lamps and air curtains. Where traces of pests or rodents are found, the source shall be traced and the risk removed.

Food safety self-inspection shall be carried out in house or entrusted to a qualified third party, so that hidden risks are found and removed promptly.

Important food information shall be managed for traceability, and safety risks in the chain shall be identified, monitored and controlled. A traceability system should be set up and applied to identify product batches and their relationship with raw material batches and production and delivery records.

8 Emergency response and recall

A mechanism for identifying and responding to emergency situations shall be set up, the potential accidents and emergencies that could affect food safety shall be identified, and an effective response given when an incident occurs.

Emergency preparedness and response plans shall be drawn up covering fire, flood, and loss of water, power and gas supply, and food safety incidents.

A food recall system shall be set up. Where a batch or category of food is found to contain, or possibly to contain, a factor harmful to consumer health, the recall procedure shall be started under the relevant national rules, the authorities notified promptly, and records kept.

Recalled food shall be rendered harmless or destroyed. The destruction shall be recorded by photograph or video, the recall and its handling recorded in detail, and recovered food shall not be processed and used again.

9 Personnel management

9.1 Health management. A health management system for staff shall be set up and applied; staff shall be in good health and hold a valid health certificate, which shall be displayed in a suitable place. Health files shall be kept by a designated person. Staff who handle food eaten directly and who suffer from a digestive tract infectious disease such as dysentery, typhoid, hepatitis A or hepatitis E, or from active tuberculosis, a suppurative or exudative skin disease or another disease that impairs food safety, or who have an unhealed skin injury, shall be moved to work that does not affect food safety. Staff shall have a health check before each shift; anyone found with fever, diarrhoea, severe pharyngitis or a similar illness, or with a wound or infection of the skin, shall be suspended from work in contact with food eaten directly and may return only once the cause has been established and a disease impairing food safety ruled out.

9.2 Training management. A food safety training system shall be set up and food safety management staff, such as a food safety director and food safety officers, appointed. An annual food safety training plan shall be drawn up and carried out according to the needs of each post, with the training recorded. The plan shall be reviewed and revised regularly, its effect assessed, routine checks made and the plan carried out effectively.

10 Information records and archive management

Information records and archive management shall comply with GB 31654.

A records system shall be set up, recording in detail the purchase of raw materials, processing, storage, inspection, delivery and handover, the use of food additives, food safety self-inspection, the cleaning and repair of facilities and equipment, pest control, staff training and assessment, and the disposal of spoiled, out-of-date or recalled food. Records shall be complete and truthful, and every step from purchase of raw material to handover shall be traceable.

Information on food, food additives and food-related products shall be recorded in detail and the supporting documents kept.

Incoming inspection records for food raw materials, food additives and food packaging materials and other related products, and outgoing inspection records, shall be countersigned by the recording and checking staff and shall be complete. They shall be kept for not less than 2 years.

Intelligent information technology is encouraged for keeping records and managing documents.

11 Supervision, evaluation and improvement

Internal quality appraisal and assessment shall be carried out, and administrative and public supervision accepted.

Corrections or preventive measures shall be taken promptly on the strength of supervision and audit results, so that public satisfaction rises.

Evaluation standards and mechanisms combining internal and external evaluation shall be set up, and service quality evaluation centred on a satisfaction survey of those served shall be carried out at regular or irregular intervals. The satisfaction survey shall follow the content and requirements of GB/T 19038 and GB/T 19039.

Complaint channels shall be provided on site and by letter, telephone and network; a dedicated department shall investigate and handle complaints and inform the complainant of the outcome.

Improvement measures shall be drawn up from the evaluation results and the feedback received, and the management work adjusted and optimised promptly.