Community Fridge Safety Notice

It’s time for our regular reminder about food safety and the Community Fridge. Please make sure you have a read! Thank you.

Reminder about dates and safety:  

USE BY is a legal safety date. We cannot accept any items that have passed this date. Any item past its use by date must be composted or binned. It is not considered fit for human consumption.

BEST BEFORE is a food quality guideline. We can accept items that are a little past this date as long as the packaging is unopened and clearly labelled.

Allergens and Natasha’s Law: As a result of a rule called Natasha’s Lawevery packaged food item coming into our community fridge must list all its ingredients on its packaging with any of the 14 major allergens it contains in bold. In order to run the community fridge safely we must only accept food items that are clearly labelled and packaged by the food business or retailer. That includes individual bakery items too. So, if it’s not packaged, or not labelled, we can’t accept it. (Fresh, whole, uncut fruit and veg are ok)

All of us are responsible for health and safety. That includes you too! Our volunteers check the fridges every time they are here. Donors please check dates and labels before you put items in the fridge. Recipients please also check dates and labels when you collect food. If you spot a problem, please let us know so we can put it right asap. Let’s all work together to keep our Community Fridge safe. Thank you. 

#AshValeCommunityFridge is open to all, located in the Community Shed at The Chapel on Wharf Rd, GU12 5AY