u/No_Eye3569

Hi! Can anyone working in the F&B industry help me identify the appropriate PPE for the following areas?

Food and Non-Food Warehouse
Including regular and freezer storage

• Hard hat
• Thermal bonnet
• Thermal jacket and trousers
• Thermal gloves
• Safety shoes
• High-visibility vest

Production

• Cut-resistant gloves
• Heat-resistant gloves
• Heat-resistant and waterproof apron
• Non-slip safety boots
• Dust mask or suitable respiratory protection when handling flour

Are these sufficient, or have I missed any essential PPE? Should the requirements be further categorized according to specific tasks or production areas?

I’m new to the F&B industry, so I would appreciate any advice or recommendations from those with experience. Thank you!

We generate around ₱500k to ₱1M worth of food products for disposal every month. These include expired, spoiled, or below-quality raw and processed food products, particularly meat, shrimp, and other food items.

I'm wondering if there are ways we can recover some value from these products instead of simply paying for disposal.

For example:

• Can these products be donated to a commercial composting facility or other food-waste recovery facility?
• Are there companies that accept food waste for composting, biogas, black soldier fly (BSF), animal feed, rendering, or other forms of recovery?
• If we donate or transfer these products to an appropriate organization/facility, are there tax deductions or other tax incentives available in the Philippines?
• Are there companies that would collect the food waste for free or even pay for it, depending on the type and volume?
• What are the usual legal, food-safety, and documentation requirements for this kind of arrangement?

To clarify, we're talking about food products that are no longer suitable for normal sale/use due to expiration, spoilage, or quality issues. Some products may still be safe/wholesome but no longer meet our quality or commercial standards, while others are genuinely spoiled and unsuitable for human consumption.

We're looking for practical options that would allow us to reduce disposal costs, divert food waste from landfill, and potentially recover some value from the waste stream.

Would appreciate any experience or recommendations, especially from people in the food manufacturing, commissary, restaurant, waste-management, or sustainability industries.

Thank you.

EDIT: Location is Philippines

We are a tenant in a commercial building in the City. I was recently hired as the Safety Officer (SO) for our department. One of my first responsibilities was to assess the safety of our workplace. During my assessment, I discovered that the building's Fire Detection and Alarm System (FDAS), including the water sprinkler system, was not operational. No one seemed to know why it wasn't working or how long it had been in that condition.

Naturally, I reported the issue to both our company's management and the building's management. However, nothing seemed to happen. Since there was no visible progress, I tried contacting the building's third-party vendor directly. They were understandably hesitant to discuss the matter with me because I wasn't their official point of contact.

A few days ago, we experienced a minor fire incident. Fortunately, our team was able to extinguish it ourselves without any assistance from the building's emergency response team.

After that, I sent a follow-up email to the head of the building's administration. My intention was not to report the fire itself but to emphasize the urgency of resolving the non-functional FDAS and sprinkler system by mentioning that an actual incident had already occurred.

Shortly afterward, I received a call from someone on the building's Maintenance Team, who is also a Safety Officer and part of their Emergency Response Team (ERT). He questioned why I had escalated the matter directly to the administration head without informing the Maintenance Team first. He said I had bypassed their communication process and had disrespected them by going directly to senior management.

He also insisted that what happened was only a "spark incident," not a fire incident, arguing that if it had truly been a fire, there would have been a major commotion and the Fire Bureau would have been involved. He even told me to research the difference between a spark and a fire, saying that although I may be a Safety Officer, I lacked knowledge about fire safety and what constitutes a fire.

The thing is, my email was never intended to formally report the fire incident. I only referenced it to demonstrate why restoring the FDAS and sprinkler system was urgent. The call left me wondering if I had done something inappropriate, but at the same time, I don't believe I acted unreasonably. In fact, after my email, my original concern finally started receiving attention, and the building management committed to an immediate timeline for addressing the issue.

So, AITA for escalating the matter to the building's administration?

Edit: Thank you for your responses. I'm kinda new to the safety world (6 years) compared to the guy who called me (maybe 2 decades) so when he mentioned that spark is not fire incident it made me question my knowledge about fire safety. Is "spark" incident really not related to fire? What happened is there was really a spark or an ignition that caused a small fire hence I labelled it fire incident. But he said it's just a spark and not reportable 😅