Food safety training requirements

What has happened?
What about Training?
Who does it affect?
What do I have to do?

What has happened?

Food Safety legislation in the UK changed from 1 January 2006. The Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995 were revoked and replaced with The Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2005.

For further information please visit the Food Standards Agency website. Please see: Open Board Meetings

On 29 April 2004 the European Parliament and of the Council issued Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs. These came into force on 1 January 2006.

Article 5 states that food business operators shall put into place, implement and maintain a permanent procedure based on the principles of hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP). The HACCP principles referred to above consist of the following:

Identifying any hazards that must be prevented eliminated or reduced to acceptable levels

Identifying the critical control points at the step or steps at which control is essential to prevent or eliminate a hazard or to reduce it to acceptable levels

Establishing critical limits at critical control points that separate acceptability from unacceptability for the prevention, elimination or reduction of identified hazards

Establishing and implementing effective monitoring procedures at critical control points

Establishing corrective actions when monitoring indicates that a critical control point is not under control

Establishing procedures, this shall be carried out regularly, to verify that the measures outlined in the above paragraphs

Establishing documents and records commensurate with the nature and size of the food business to demonstrate the effective application of the measures outlined in the above paragraphs

When any modification is made in the product, process, or any step, food business operators shall review the procedure and make the necessary changes to it.

What about Training?

Chapter XII states that food business operators are to ensure that: “Food handlers are supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters commensurate with their work activity”. It also states that “Those responsible for the development and maintenance of the procedure referred to in Article 5 (1) of the Regulation or for the operation of relevant guides have received adequate training in the application of the HACCP principles, and compliance with any requirement of national law concerning training programmes for persons working in certain food sectors.”

Managers who are responsible for maintaining a food safety management system will require adequate training to enable them to carry out the statutory requirement The Food Standards Agency, Learning and Skills Council, Qualification and Curriculum Authority; together with the examination bodies have prepared the framework for a new set of food safety qualifications from 2006.

Also involved is the new Sector Skills Council for the Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism Industry – People 1st. The SSC can be contacted by: Main switchboard: 0870 060 2550 or via their website. Please see: www.people1st.co.uk

Who does it affect?

No matter what the nature or size of the business, owners will have to ensure that they have a sound food safety management system in place.

What do I have to do?

It is the responsibilities of owners of food businesses to ensure that they comply with them. Guidance is available from The Food Standards Agency or your local authority environmental health department.

Keep an eye out for updates in magazines such as Caterer and Hotelkeeper.

You can find further information by visiting the following websites:

Food Standards Agency www.food.gov.uk
Food hygiene, safety and standards at www.rbkc.gov.uk/foodhygieneandstandards