How Can I Get Food Safety Certification for Offshore Catering Company?

Key Takeaways

• Food safety certification helps offshore catering companies meet recognised food hygiene and operational safety standards.
• Temperature control and cold chain logistics are critical for safe offshore food transportation and storage.
• Offshore catering inspections cover kitchen hygiene, refrigerated storage, transportation systems, and food handling practices.
• ISO 22000 and HACCP are among the most recognised food safety certification standards.
• Offshore reefer containers help maintain food-safe temperatures during offshore transportation and deployment.

Introduction

Food is a critical cog in the wheel that is human survival. In remote environments with limited access to medical services and workers performing physically demanding tasks, it is more vital to ensure that food is prepared to the highest of standards. 

So, to ensure the maintenance of the best culinary standards, food safety certification is typically recommended. 

What are offshore catering companies?

Offshore catering companies are those that serve remote asset types like accommodation barges, drill ships, diving support vessels, pipe-lay vessels, semi-submersible vessels, walk-to-work vessels, and drilling units.

What is food safety certification for offshore catering companies?

Food safety certification is a formal process that verifies whether an offshore catering company follows internationally recognised food safety, hygiene, storage, preparation, and handling standards.

Food safety revolves around activities that ensure the proper storage, preparation and handling of food to prevent food-borne illnesses. 

For example, separation of raw and cooked foods, cooking food or storing food at the right temperature, or using safe water for food preparation. 

Food safety certification involves a series of activities performed via a third party to ensure that products, processes or systems in a food supply chain meet acceptable standards. 

These activities are founded on iterative testing, inspections and audits. Essentially, they give organisations the confidence that equipment and ingredients being used by a caterer meet international industry standards. 

In offshore environments, food safety certification helps ensure that food served to crew members remains safe, hygienic, and properly stored throughout transportation, storage, preparation, and serving.

Food safety certification is especially important in offshore oil and gas operations, marine catering, accommodation vessels, drilling units, and remote offshore facilities where food contamination risks can have serious operational and health consequences.

Food safety certificates are typically awarded to food handlers like chefs, servers, and dishwashers, after the completion of a food safety training course. 

Such a training course usually exhaustively covers touch points like:

• Food allergies, food intolerance and cross-contamination management.
• Cleaning and sanitising all preparation surfaces, equipment, and utensils.
• Maintenance of the highest standards of personal hygiene.
• Legal obligations with regards to food handling.
• Optimal temperatures to correctly store, prepare and cook food correctly with regards to environment and equipment.
• How food poisoning may occur, and how to keep guests safe from harmful bacteria.

Why Is Food Safety Important in Offshore Catering?

Why is it needed?

Offshore catering operations face unique challenges compared to onshore food operations. Remote locations, limited medical access, harsh offshore environments, and long transportation durations increase the importance of food hygiene and temperature control.

Improper food storage or poor hygiene practices offshore may lead to:

• Food contamination
• Food poisoning outbreaks
• Operational disruptions
• Crew health risks
• Regulatory penalties
• Insurance and liability issues

This is why offshore catering companies heavily rely on food safety certification, offshore reefer containers, refrigerated storage systems, and temperature monitoring procedures.

Food safety certification assures prospective offshore clients that their catering business meets the requirements of internationally recognised best food practices. 

Furthermore, certification by an objective signifies good governance and corporate responsibility, which can be invaluable for any serious business dealing. 

Overall, food safety certification shows that a catering organisation’s food processes and ingredients consistently comply with:

• Safety 
• Fitness for use
• Interchangeability characteristics defined by international baseline standards
• Any specifications supplementary to international food standards.

For offshore oil and gas projects, food safety certification may also be part of vendor approval and operational compliance requirements. 

What is checked during offshore catering inspection?

Offshore Catering Inspection Parameters

Offshore catering inspections are typically performed according to areas and equipment, for example: 

1. Refrigerators and Freezers

• If general housekeeping rules are followed.
• Cleanliness of slats and shelves.
• Stability of materials.
• If food is properly stored on shelves/slats, 
• If leftovers are older than 24 hours.

Inspectors may also verify temperature monitoring logs and refrigeration system performance. 

2. Kitchen/Food Preparation Area

• If utensils are properly stored clean & dry.
• If ranges, hoods, and filters are clean or free of grease.
• Fire extinguisher safety.
• Fire blanket functionality. 
• If the meat slicer is clean.
• If exhaust vents are clear of dust.
• If trash is regularly removed.
• If floors are free of slip and trip hazards.

3. Cleaning staff

• If cleaning personnel are free of respiratory signs 
• If staff maintain clean uniforms.
• If staff use gloves and hats. 

4. Galley Area

• If tables and chairs are clean.
• If the coffee mess is clean and stocked.
• If ice and drink machines are safe.

5. Dry Stores Area

• Proper storage on pallets or shelves.
• If containers, bags, and boxes are properly sealed.

6. Offshore shipping and transportation

• Quality and certification of offshore reefer containers deployed

Inspectors may also check whether offshore refrigerated containers maintain stable food-safe temperatures during transportation and offshore storage. 

What Are the Most Common Food Safety Certifications for Offshore Catering Companies?

Some of the most recognised food safety certifications used in offshore catering and food handling industries include:

• ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System
• HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)
• Safe Food for Canadians Certification
• Food Handler Certification
• ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification
• Safe Food Warranty (SFW)
• Local food hygiene and catering certifications

Many offshore catering companies also undergo internal audits and client-specific offshore food safety inspections.

How Does Temperature Control Affect Offshore Food Safety?

Temperature control is one of the most important parts of offshore food safety management.

Improper food temperatures can rapidly encourage bacterial growth, spoilage, and food contamination, especially during long offshore transportation journeys.

Offshore catering companies often use:

• Offshore reefer containers
• Refrigerated storage units
• Cold chain logistics systems
• Temperature monitoring systems
• Data logging systems

These systems help maintain safe food storage temperatures throughout transportation and offshore deployment.

Read: Temperature-controlled logistics

How Do Offshore Catering Companies Maintain Food Safety During Transportation?

Maintaining food safety offshore is not limited to kitchen hygiene alone. Transportation and offshore storage play equally important roles.

Most offshore catering companies use cold chain logistics procedures to ensure food products remain within safe temperature ranges during:

• Offshore shipping
• Port handling
• Temporary storage
• Vessel loading and unloading
• Offshore deployment

Temperature-controlled offshore reefer containers help reduce spoilage risks and improve food safety compliance during long offshore operations.

How to get food safety certification?

There are multiple types of food safety certification, mainly at the state level and national levels. 

In essence, requirements for food safety certification typically vary from region to region, but share the same principles. 

Most certification bodies dictate the completion of a course in food safety from a recognised institute, college or university. Actually, some institutions offer their food certification courses entirely online. 

After completing course modules and passing the exams, students are presented with food safety or professional food manager certification. In most instances, certification requires renewal every two to three years.

For offshore catering companies seeking food safety certificates, the main option is to engage accredited international certification bodies licensed to perform ISO 22000:2005 testing and Safe Food Warranty certificate issuance.

Additionally, Caterers Offshore Trade Association (COTA) represents six companies which supply catering and auxiliary services to offshore oil and gas installations in the North Sea. These are:

• Aramark
• Conntrak
• Entier
• ESS
• FOSS & ESG
• Sodexo
• Trinity International Services

Offshore catering companies in Nort Sea require to meet stringent health and safety requirements. COTA companies provide certifications that ensure that these requirements are exceeded. 

Where Can Offshore Catering Companies Get Food Safety Certification?

Offshore catering companies can obtain food safety certification from accredited certification bodies, recognised food safety training providers, or approved international auditing organisations.

Many companies pursue internationally recognised certifications such as ISO 22000 or HACCP through authorised certification bodies.

Certification costs may vary depending on:

• Company size
• Number of staff
• Certification type
• Audit complexity
• Training requirements
• Operational locations

Some food safety training programmes are also available online for basic food handler certifications.

Can you get a food safety certificate online?

Online food safety certification options are available that allow participants to complete courses at their own pace. 

However, online courses are typically restricted to jurisdiction and region. 

For example, this Canadian Food Handler Certification Course may not be valid in the United States.

What Happens If Offshore Catering Food Safety Standards Are Not Followed?

Failure to follow food safety standards offshore may result in severe consequences such as:

• Food poisoning incidents
• Crew illness outbreaks
• Operational downtime
• Regulatory investigations
• Reputational damage
• Insurance liabilities
• Contractual compliance failures

This is why offshore operators place strong emphasis on food safety certification, cold chain logistics, and temperature-controlled food storage systems.

Conclusion

All things considered, food is a major aspect of both human productivity and well-being. In remote locations, the stakes are raised higher as travelling by sea in foreign locales dictates the utmost consideration for food safety, flavour and hygiene.

As such, any reputable offshore catering company must have up-to-date food safety certification to prevent food-borne illnesses or insurance liability that could stem from food negligence or mismanagement. 

By combining certified food safety procedures with proper cold chain logistics, offshore reefer containers, temperature monitoring systems, and hygienic food handling practices, offshore catering companies can significantly improve operational safety and crew well-being. 

Jason Tan

Business Director

A graduate (Business) from KDU, Jason Tan, is the current Business Director (Sales) for MGS Icestorm and has been associated with the company for the past 10 years.

With over 13 years in the shipping industry, he has had a significant contribution to Malaysia’s oil and gas industry in the engine and boat supply sector.

His expertise includes managing offshore catering business, offshore reefer containers, AI technology, offshore gas tanks, A60 pressurized cabins, etc. His contributions have helped establish MGS, in partnership (joint venture) with Thermo King and Honeywell to produce state of art Offshore Reefer Container products.