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Sneeze guard for a bakery counter

Updated: October 2026

You have unwrapped cakes, sandwiches or deli trays on the counter, and a customer can lean straight over them. A sneeze guard for bakery display is one way to block hands, coughs and sneezes. It is not a fridge, and the law does not require a product by that name. The [sneeze guard comparison](/hub/occupational-safety/sneeze-guard) is the amazon.co.uk table captured on 20 October 2026. How to match width and height before you order is on the [sneeze guard buying guide](/hub/occupational-safety/sneeze-guard/sub/sneeze-guard-buying-guide). The Products Compared editorial team used the Food Standards Agency's retailer pack and the captured listings. We did not inspect your counter. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have unwrapped cakes, sandwiches or deli trays on the counter, and a customer can lean straight over them. A sneeze guard for bakery display is one way to block hands, coughs and sneezes.

Our top picks

Plasticraft Plasticraft 400 mm food screen, 5 mm

Best overall

Plasticraft Plasticraft 400 mm food screen, 5 mm
6.9/10about £24.26
View offer
Plasticraft Plasticraft 1000 mm food screen

Rank 2

Plasticraft Plasticraft 1000 mm food screen
7.6/10about £58.93
View offer
Plasticraft Plasticraft 500 by 340 mm food screen

Alternative

Plasticraft Plasticraft 500 by 340 mm food screen
5.1/10about £40.27
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the rules actually say
  2. 2.What a counter lip does and does not cover
  3. 3.Sizes in this set
  4. 4.Cold food is a different control

What the rules actually say

Retained Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Annex II, Chapter IX, says food must be protected from contamination that would make it unfit, harmful, or unreasonable to eat. It does not name a sneeze guard, and it does not give a height in millimetres. The Food Standards Agency's Safer Food, Better Business pack for retailers tells you to cover unwrapped food or use suitable display equipment. Whole fruit and vegetables need not be covered if they are kept away from ready-to-eat food. Staff should not cough or sneeze over food, and should wash their hands if they do. A lip does not replace that.

What a counter lip does and does not cover

The food screens in this set are U-shaped acrylic lips. The back is open so you can serve. The sides are open too, so a customer who steps around the end can still reach the tray. A 250 mm lip stops a low lean across the front. It does not cover a tall cake stack that rises above the sheet. None of these listings says the acrylic is food-contact material. Do not call it food-grade. The maker's page for the 1,000 by 340 mm screen describes a 200 mm base and a 150 mm top return. Those figures are the maker's copy, not lines in the amazon capture, and the maker's price excluding VAT is not the shelf price of £58.93.
Plasticraft Plasticraft 400 mm food screen, 5 mm

Testsieger

Plasticraft Plasticraft 400 mm food screen, 5 mm
6.9/10about £24.26
View offer

Sizes in this set

Four Plasticraft food lips are the relevant rows. The 400 by 250 mm screen in 5 mm is £24.26, the best value when the open food is short. Skip it if the tray is wider than 400 mm. The 500 by 250 mm screen in 3 mm is £34.50, with no star line. The size line of 500 by 340 mm in 3 mm is £40.27, and the title also says 340 mm wide. The 1,000 by 340 mm screen in 3 mm is £58.93, the top pick when the run is about a metre and you accept 3 mm. The long lip and the thicker short lip are set out on best sneeze guard. The SUPVOX panel at £11.89 is a desk screen, not a bakery lip.

Cold food is a different control

A clear sheet does not chill a sandwich. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, chilled food must be kept at 8°C or below. That limit is recommended in Scotland. GOV.UK chilling guidance says to set the fridge at 5°C or below. Food may be out of chill once, for up to four hours, and then it should be thrown away or kept chilled again. A sneeze screen is never mentioned there. If glass or a chemical gets into the food, the retailer pack says to throw that food away. A cracked lip over an open tray is that situation. Washing acrylic, and the disinfectant code on the bottle, is on how to clean an acrylic sneeze guard.

Common questions

Is a sneeze guard legally required by name?
No. The duty is to protect food from contamination. A cover, film, mesh or suitable display equipment can do that. A lip is one method, and only when it actually blocks hands and sneezes on your counter. Your local food-safety team can say whether your layout is enough.
Is 250 mm enough for tall cakes?
Often no. A 250 mm lip suits low trays. A stand that rises above the sheet leaves the top in the open. The 340 mm listings are taller only if that number is the height. The £40.27 title disagrees with its size line, so check before you count on it.
Does the screen keep sandwiches cold?
No. Chilled food still has to stay at 8°C or below in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the same figure recommended in Scotland. Set equipment to 5°C or below where the guidance says so. A screen in front of the food does not drop the temperature.
What about whole fruit?
Whole fruit and vegetables need not be covered if they are kept away from ready-to-eat food. Once the fruit sits against open cakes or sandwiches, treat the display as one that needs protection. The exception is about separation, not about skipping hygiene for the rest of the counter.
Can customers still reach around the open sides?
Yes. These lips are open at the sides and the back. The back is how you serve. The sides are a gap. If people queue at the end of the counter, measure that reach and add a return, a second screen or a cover. Do not assume the front face protects the whole tray.
Does hygiene screen mean food-grade acrylic?
No. None of these listings states a food-contact declaration. Use the words on the page, not a phrase you add. If food will touch the sheet, you need a material claim these captures do not make.
Who do I ask if I am unsure a lip is enough?
Your local food-safety team, before a busy service depends on it. Ask them with the width of the open food and the height of the tallest item, not with a product title. If you would have to drill a chilled well or someone else's counter, use a fitter.

Related pages

Chef's jacket

Sneeze guard

Best sneeze guard for a long counter or a short one

Sneeze guard buying guide: width, height, thickness

Taxi sneeze guard: licensing, airbags and the sheet

How to clean an acrylic sneeze guard and keep it clear

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, last checked on 20 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file. The price bands are this set, not a market average.

  1. FSA: SFBB retailers, good housekeeping (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. FSA: SFBB chilled storage and display (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Annex II, Chapter IX (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK: food hygiene cleaning (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. HSE: coronavirus advice for workplaces (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. EMG S1321: screens and barriers (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  8. GOV.UK: safety screens for taxis and PHVs (retrieved 20 October 2026)