B7. Food, Sanitation and Housing

Code 7.0

Workers are to be provided with ready access to clean toilet facilities, potable water and sanitary food preparation, storage, and eating facilities. Worker dormitories provided by the Auditee or a labor agent are to be maintained clean and safe, and provided with appropriate emergency egress, hot water for bathing and showering, and adequate lighting, heat and ventilation, individually secured accommodations for storing personal and valuable items, and reasonable personal space along with reasonable entry and exit privileges.

Elements to Demonstrate Compliance to RBA Code

Elements to Demonstrate Compliance to RBA Code are here below and also in the Health & Safety Checklist "B7 Sanitation, Food and Housing: Checklist on worker Accommodations" later in this document.

1. Policy

Ensure company's health and safety policy includes food, sanitation and housing elements including:

• a. All required health & safety licenses, permits, registrations and certificates related to food, sanitation and housing are in place and an adequate and effective process is established to ensure permits and licenses are up to date at all times.
• b. Dormitories, bathrooms, and employee spaces will be clean, safe, and well-maintained and meet international housing standards.
• c. General/public bathrooms, employee spaces, cafeterias, and food areas will be clean and well-maintained.

2. Procedures & Practices

Procedures & Practices are in place such that:

• a. Permits and licenses:
  • i. A documented process is in place to ensure permits are renewed before current permits expire.
  • ii. All required food, sanitation and housing permits and licenses are in place, available for review.
  • iii. Rented apartments must be permitted by the local government as living accommodations.
  • iv. Canteen/kitchen workers have valid health certificates.
  • v. Food, sanitation and housing testing reports (drinking water, food worker health tests, food sample testing) are in place, available for review.
  • vi. If local regulations require facility health inspections or other tests or certificates, these are available and valid.
• b. Worker housing (if applicable) minimum requirements:
  • i. Dormitory and sanitary facilities (common areas, hallways, rest rooms, etc.) are clean and properly maintained.
  • ii. There are clear, well-lit stairwells to allow for safe exit from dormitories.
  • iii. Building is heated in the winter (if applicable).
  • iv. Windows provide light and ventilation.
  • v. Adequate lighting.
  • vi. Safe and sufficient electricity sockets are provided.
  • vii. Sufficient space is available for each worker.
  • viii. Individually secured storage accommodations are provided.

NOTE: The dormitory requirements shall apply regardless of the nature of the contract/location/building (e.g., if rooms are rented by the facility in nearby residential areas for housing employees, these standards shall still apply)

• ix. Structure and layout:
  1. All facilities are separated by gender and adequate in number.
  2. Lodging and cooking facilities are separate.
  3. Adequate domestic waste disposal facilities.
  4. Adequate pest control.
• x. Emergency response:
  1. Adequate fire and heat detection, alarm and notification and fire suppression systems are in place.
  2. Adequate number of exit routes from each floor.
  3. Exit route doors accessible, well-marked and unlocked from the inside.
  4. An adequate number of first aid kits are available.

NOTE: Exit route doors unlocked from the inside — doors may be locked from the outside only if panic hardware, such as crash bars, are used.

• c. Bathrooms, employee spaces, cafeterias, and food areas
  • i. Bathrooms, employee spaces, cafeterias, food areas are safe, clean and well maintained.
  • ii. Exits must be adequate for the number of workers served.
  • iii. Canteens are provided with adequate hand washing facilities.
  • iv. Maximum occupancy number is posted on site.
  • v. An adequate and effective cleaning and sanitation program is in place.
  • vi. Adequate pest control.
• d. Food workers
  • i. Food service workers wear masks, hairnets and gloves as necessary to prevent food contamination.
• e. Food storage
  • i. Food storage and preparation areas are clean.
  • ii. Food is stored properly (not on the floor; refrigerated if necessary).
  • iii. Raw and cooked food stored separately, food kept covered.
  • iv. Food is used or disposed of before the marked expiration date.
• f. Drinking water
  • i. Water must be tested for those contaminants assessed to be at risk for the local region and operations.
  • ii. Drinking water testing is not required if local water utility company can attest water meets World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality or equivalent standard.

3. Controls & Monitoring

Controls & Monitoring should include:

• a. An adequate and effective preventive maintenance program (including emergency response supporting facilities) is in place.
• b. For rented apartments, a risk assessment is performed and updated if there is a Significant Change, with on-site inspections and emergency drills.

4. Records

Records are maintained including:

• a. Sanitation program tracking records are available for review and up to date.
• b. Pest control log is available for review and up to date.
• c. Preventive maintenance program logs available for review and up to date.
• d. Food, sanitation and housing testing reports are in place, available for review.

5. Best Practices

• a. Any sleeping / living accommodations/building do not contain storage for operations (e.g., parts/material, chemicals, finished goods, equipment, invoices).

6. Rating

For the permits and licenses provision, a finding is rated as follows:

• Major: One or more of the following is true: required permits, licenses or testing reports are missing; canteen/kitchen worker certificates are missing or expired; or two or more of the minimum requirement elements are missing or ineffective.
• Minor: One of the minimum requirement elements is missing or ineffective, or a system element is not adequately documented or is prohibited.

7. Serious conditions that will result in a severe finding

• Dormitory/rented apartments is/are unsafe with immediate risk of loss of facility, life or limb.
• Bathrooms, employee spaces, cafeterias, food areas are unsafe with immediate risk of loss of facility, life or serious injury.

1.0.0 (2021-01-01)

Changed

• Initial historical baseline — Food, Sanitation and Housing (RBA Code of Conduct 7.0): Earliest imported version of the criterion. Requires ready access to clean toilet facilities, potable water, and sanitary food preparation/storage/eating facilities, and clean, safe worker dormitories with emergency egress, hot water, lighting, heat and ventilation, secured storage, and reasonable personal space. Includes a standalone permits/licenses provision (with explicit Major band for missing permits/licenses/ testing reports or expired canteen-worker certificates), dormitory and cafeteria emergency-response requirements (fire/heat detection and alarm, exit routes from each floor, first-aid kits, posted maximum occupancy), and drinking-water testing against WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality. Explicit Major/Minor rating bands: a single missing/ineffective element rates Minor (pass).