Key Requirements of the New Hygiene Legislation
Introduction
If you run or intend to start up a business which prepares, handles and sells food, including providing food to your own staff, you must comply with hygiene rules to make sure the food is safe to eat. These rules changed from 1 January 2006. While many of the rules did not change from the previous requirements, there are some differences.
This guidance outlines what the law requires you to do and gives links to where you can get additional guidance to help you. More detailed guidance on the requirements of the new food hygiene legislation is contained in "FSA guidance on the requirements of food hygiene legislation" (see "Details" below).
Registering Your Premises
Food business operators must register their establishments i.e. each separate unit of their food business with the relevant Local Authority and should do so at least 28 days before they commence trading. This provides new food businesses with an opportunity to obtain further information and guidance from the Local Authority on food law issues. This requirement applies to land based premises and floating restaurants.
Hygiene Requirements
In order to produce food safely, you must ensure that:
- where and how it is produced is hygienic.
- your premises are kept clean and are properly equipped.
- Foods are hygienically handled.
- Staff are appropriately supervised, and be instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters so that they can carry out their work hygienically.
- Those responsible for developing and maintaining the food safety management procedures have received adequate training.
Managing Food Safety
Producing food safely doesn't happen by accident. You need to manage the process in order to protect your customers and your reputation and to comply with the law. The hygiene rules require you to have a procedure in place for doing this which respects certain principles.
The procedure you operate will need to show to your enforcement officer that you have effective food safety management in place. This requires the following;
- Hazards to food safety which might be present within your business are identified ("What can go wrong, when and where?").
- Controls are in place to deal with these hazards. ("What can I do about it and where?")
- Controls are carried out and checked. If something goes wrong everyone is clear what to do about it and then does it. ("What is acceptable?" "How can I check?" "What can I do about it?")
- Procedures are kept up to date ("If I change my way of preparing food, do I need to change my food safety controls?").
- Documents are kept, which are necessary to show what the procedures are, ("What documents should I keep to show what my procedures are?").
- Records necessary to show the procedures are working are kept ("What records should I keep to show my procedures are working and any problems have been put right"?)
Please note that catering businesses do not have to use an FSA pack, but many businesses will find them helpful.
Full details of how to obtain one these packs can be found in "FSA guidance on the requirements of food hygiene legislation" or contact your Local Authority.
General FSA advice on food safety management,can also be found on the web site at www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/regulation/hygleg/
This page also links to downloadable information about Safer food, better business, Cooksafe, and Safe Catering.
Further help for businesses on producing food safely can be found in the FSA
booklet Food Hygiene - a guide for businesses. See www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/hygieneguidebooklet.pdf
Details
The rules referred to in this guidance are contained in:
- Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the
- Council on the hygiene of foodstuffs. This is part of a package of EU legislation on food hygiene, the other elements of which are:
- Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin; and
- Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption.
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