Safer Food, Better Business

The new food laws bring together and extend the requirements of the current UK food hygiene laws. The main difference is that you will need to have a documented food safety management system. In other words you will need to say what you do to make food safe to eat and have this written down.

The amount of documentation you need will be related to the type of food you prepare/handle and the risks presented by your business.

A full ‘Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point’ (HACCP) system is suited to food manufacturers that produce large amounts of similar foods.

However, it does not easily work in catering businesses (such as restaurants or pub kitchens) where the menu regularly changes and is made up of lots of different items.

Safer Food Better Business

The challenge of how these smaller businesses can comply with these new requirements without a full HACCP system was taken up by The Food Standards Agency (FSA). Following extensive trials and consultation with the food industry Safer Food Better Business (SFBB) has been developed.

SFBB allows small businesses to find out more about the new requirements. To implement SFBB, the councils in Wiltshire are working together to deliver a package of free briefings, training and, in some cases, one to one coaching.

SFBB is a simple fact sheet system and record sheets presented in a diary format that shows how to ensure that the major potential hazards in your catering business can be safely controlled.

Generally those risks are posed by the ‘4 Cs’:-

Each SFBB pack is split into five sections. They contain about 20 ‘Safe Methods’ fact sheets that cover the 4 Cs (E.g., ‘Cooking food safely’ or ‘Safe reheating’). Obviously not all will be relevant to your business but some will be.

A simple diary is also provided for appropriate record keeping. It includes a four weekly review sheet to ensure that the document remains up to date. This can take into account supplier or menu changes and allow common problems to be identified and addressed.

From the 1^st January 2006 you need a documented food safety management system, It does not need to be SFBB but any alternative may involve a lot of work for you if you don’t already have such a system in place.

Contact the Environmental Health Section of the Council for more details:-
Tel 01249 706555
Email: ehealth@northwilts.gov.uk

Or visit the food standards agency website at www.foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk.