Food safety - regulations
The laws on food hygiene changed in 2006, and now greater
emphasis is put on the way in which risks to the safety of food are
managed. Food businesses now have a clear legal duty to make sure
that food served or sold to customers is safe to eat.
Every food business will have different risks, depending upon the
type of food that is prepared and the way in which it is produced
and handled.
A written food safety management plan and procedures, based on
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) principles,
must now be put in place, implemented and maintained.
The main areas of legislation that cover
general food business are:
The above legislation makes it an offence for
anyone to sell (or keep for sale) food that is unfit for people to
eat or cause food to be dangerous to health, sell food that isn't
what the customer is entitled to expect, in terms of content or
quality or describe or present food in a way that is false or
misleading.
They also place an obligation on businesses to ensure that their
activities are carried out in a hygienic way. As a
proprietor, you are responsible for checking specifically what you
need to do to comply with the law. Failure to do this could lead to
formal action being taken, which could result in financial
penalties and accompanying adverse publicity.
Some food businesses also require a
licence from the Licensing Section e.g. Late Night Refreshment
Houses.
Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 sets out the basic
hygiene principles that food businesses must follow in relation to
staff, premises and food handling. Under the regulations, you
must have effective controls necessary to avoid contamination, to
ensure that food is produced safely and that the health of your
customers is not put at risk.
The controls include:
- Premises are clean and in a good state of repair
- Good drainage, lighting and ventilation
- Sufficient waste disposal facilities
- Toilet facilities for staff
- Equipment is in good condition and kept clean
- Permanent arrangements for pest control which guard against
infestation by rats, mice, flies, cockroaches and other
insects
- An effective cleaning routine
- Staff who are appropriately clothed and trained and have good
personal hygiene habits
- Arrangements for ensuring that all foods received into the
premises are in good condition
- Handling, storage and transport practices which meet
temperature control requirements and avoid contamination
You must identify potential hazards associated
with your business and introduce which will control the risks and
to ensure food safety
Schedule
4 of The Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2006 requires
certain foods to be held at temperatures that will prevent the
growth of harmful bacteria.
It is an offence to allow food to be kept at
temperatures that would cause a risk to health, so you must make
sure foods that need temperature control are kept at the right
temperature.
- Foods that need to be kept hot should be kept at 63°C or
above
- Foods that need to be kept cold should be kept at 8°C or below
(preferably at 5°C or below)
- Foods that need to be kept frozen should be kept between
-18°C to -24°C
Find out about general food law from the Food
Standards Agency website.
