Guest Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 Hi, Just wondered what other people are doing about cake making and Christmas fairs. I am the food co-ordinator at my school as part of our Healthy School Curriculum team. This year our headteacher has said (in light of new food regulations) that parents cannot make cakes at home for the Christmas fair but instead can make them in school in our food tech room. However she is also saying that parents cannot bring in their own ingredients to cook as we don't know where they have been!!!! I am happy to organise a rota of parents who have offered to cook but it seems barmy to me that the PTA are now buying ingredients to make cakes to sell at the fair to raise money for the PTA. As the food tech room was recently cleaned by a couple of parents they are very cross at the thought of their homes not being clean enough to cook in. I rang the national PTA group who said that it was fine for parents to make cakes at home to sell as long as it was for occassionla events like a fair. That is not carrying any weight with the head. What are other schools doing this year? Any ideas or thoughts would be useful Nicky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 My daughters school is continuing the way it has always done, letting the parents bake cakes at home jx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 Unfortunately in this era of litigation I can in part see the heads point of view, however, maybe as a compromise he could get legal advice as to whether it is possible to advertise some sort of disclaimer prior to and during the event, ie: Eat at your own risk!! Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 This came up at our pre-school for our xmas fayre and I found the following on the Food Standards Agency website. Hope this helps. The parent-staff association at my children's school would like to have a stall selling home-made cakes at the school fair. But some people are concerned about hygiene. Is this kind of stall OK? Home-made cakes should be safe to eat, as long as the people who make them observe good food hygiene, and the cakes are stored and transported safely. At home, people making cakes should follow these tips: * Always wash your hands before preparing food. * Make sure that surfaces, bowls, utensils, etc. are clean. * Don't use raw eggs in anything that won't be thoroughly cooked, such as icing or mousse. * Keep cheesecakes and any cakes or desserts containing cream or butter icing in the fridge. * Store cakes in a clean, sealable container, away from raw foods, especially raw meat. On the day, people bringing in cakes from home or running the stall should follow these tips: * Transport cakes in a clean, sealable container. * Make sure that cheesecakes and any cakes or desserts containing cream or butter icing are out of the fridge for the shortest time possible. * Avoid handling cakes. Use tongs or a cake slice instead. If you would like more advice, contact the environmental health service at your local authority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wolfie Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 That sounds like a sensible approach to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 sounds like a good solution Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JacquieL Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 Yes I'm glad to hear that. I have made 20 jars of jam, 6 jars of mince-meat, and will be baking several cakes for our Xmas fair so I feel I can sell them with a clear conscience. What a minefield all this is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliamch Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 I've always made cakes for pre-school, school and church fairs, no different this year. Donators are asked to 'name' the cakes and include a list of ingredients if possible. I always make a huge batch of eggless chocolate fairy cakes which always go down a storm. Apart from the fact that two of my children's schools don't have food tech room, I don't where I'd find the time to go in to bake cakes! Karrie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 One local school will not allow home made cakes.. says parent have to bring in bought ones and to check the sell/use by date Inge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 I have just held my Christmas Fair and one of the most popular stalls was homebake. The stall has a notice saying we cannot guarantee any products are nut free and identify those that are egg free and everyone seems happy with that. I feel we sometimes over analyse these things. When I was younger I couldn't wait to buy a bag of buns or gingerbread man at my school fair. I would love to see the statistics on poisoning caused by Christmas Fairs!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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