B and B Owner
Food Safety, be prepared&##x21;

Food Safety, be prepared!

Chris Parkin

New food hygiene laws will apply in the UK from 1 January 2006. They will affect all food businesses, including caterers, primary producers (such as farmers), manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

From 1 January 2006, the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2005 in England (and similar legislation in Scotland and Wales) will revoke and replace most of the existing food hygiene national legislation.

Catering businesses will need to have a food safety management system based on the principles of HACCP. They are already required to produce food that is safe to eat, but the new regulations say that catering businesses must be able to show what they do to make food safely - and have this written down.
The type of system they need will depend on the size and type of business.
Many small catering businesses will only need a simple system.

Catering businesses do not have to use any particular pack or model, but they must make sure they have a food safety management system that is suitable for their business. Some businesses will already have a suitable system, so they will not need to introduce a new one.

'Safer food, better business', an innovative and practical approach to food safety management, has been developed by the FSA in partnership with small catering businesses and more than 50 local authorities

Using this pack will help you to:

comply with the new regulations
show what you do to make food safely
train staff
protect your business's reputation
improve you business e.g. by wasting less food.


Cross-contamination

  • Personal hygiene
  • Cloths
  • Separating foods
  • Pest control
  • Maintenance
  • Food allergies
  • Physical and chemical contamination

Cleaning

  • Cleaning effectively
  • Clear and clean as you go
  • Your cleaning schedule

Chilling

  • Chilled storage and display
  • Chilling down hot food
  • Defrosting
  • Freezing

Cooking

  • Cooking safely
  • Foods that need extra care
  • Reheating
  • Ready-to-eat foods
  • Checking your menu
  • Hot holding

Management

  • Opening and closing checks/Extra checks
  • Prove it
  • Training and supervision/Customers
  • Suppliers and contractors/Stock control

Diary

  • Front and back cover
  • Introduction
  • Daily checks
  • Week-to-view pages
  • 4-weekly review
  • Prove it records
  • Staff training record
  • Suppliers' list
  • Cleaning schedule

You can download the whole pack here and get ready for the new regulations. Most Local Authorities will I suspect target larger organisations first as they have the potential to cause the most damage in the area they operate. Make no mistake though eventually you will receive a pack and you will be expected to comply.


 

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