There are thousands of food service, manufacturing and processing businesses in the food and drink sector. All of them have to ensure the food being produced is fit for human consumption and demonstrates due diligence for food safety in manufacture or preparation.
To prove this, food business owners must ensure they have procedures and practices in place and that they are adhered to, with records completed fully and accurately. The foundation of this best practice is training in food safety and HACCP, with the vast majority of those working in the sector completing a Food Safety Level Two qualification available at Workforce Training right at the start of their career in the industry, in line with recommendations from the Food Standards Agency. It is important to note food safety certificates and training are recommended to be updated every 2 years. This is to ensure changes in food safety requirements or the law has changed e.g. allergen labelling. Also, as people progress their career moving up the chain of command, a step up in the level of training should be considered. In the same way, perhaps additional HACCP stand-alone training may be required.
What is Due Diligence in Legal Terms?
Food businesses are required by law to keep records showing that food is produced hygienically using the practices and procedures which ensure it is suitable for human consumption. When a business appears in court for a breach of food safety legislation, the company can use a defence protocol called due diligence. This is part of the Food Safety Act of 1990 (Phil – link to this).
This protocol is a tool to balance the business’s right to defend itself against wrongful prosecution. The business may not be convicted if the required evidence is available and complete, usually in the form of comprehensive and contemporaneous records.
The critical paragraph in the Food Safety Act 1990 states:
”“It shall... be a defence for the person charged to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence by himself or by a person under his control."
If the act or default was carried out by a person not under the control of the business [Phil – is something missing here?]
Demonstrating Due Diligence
Due diligence should be part of the procedures set up by a business and completed as an everyday activity. When monitoring the controls in place and recording the results, an authorised competent person should sign the record at the end of a stated period. An authorised person will usually be someone in a team leader or management position, and they will have carried out a level three or four qualification in food safety management or supervision.
Completing the procedure this way may or may not identify issues that need to be investigated in the event of the contravention of food safety law. To make an effective due diligence defence, fully completed and thorough records will be required as evidence to demonstrate:
“All reasonable precautions have been taken to avoid the offence by themselves or someone under their control.”
Ensuring Due Diligence Through HACCP
The record of activity in food handling should follow the principles of HACCP – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point. This is a management system that helps ensure food safety by analysing and controlling biological, chemical and physical hazards to identify stages in the production process where additional safety measures are needed. All food businesses must have a HACCP plan.
HACCP has seven principles to follow when in use. These are:
- Conduct a hazard analysis – Phil – briefly explain each of these points
- Determine critical control points (CCPs)
- Establish critical limits
- Establish monitoring procedures
- Establish corrective actions
- Establish verification procedures
- Establish record-keeping and documentation procedures
Part of the process of introducing HACCP is to create a flow diagram which identifies every step in the process, including introducing different ingredients and packaging at various stages. It should also identify the removal of waste. Below is an example of what such a flow diagram could look like – click or tap to enlarge the image.
[Phil – can you put your own image in here?]
PRPs, GHPs and GMPs
Pre-requisite programmes (PRPs) form the essential foundation for building HACCP. These are sets of practices and conditions that are essential for food safety. For example, [give two examples of simple PRPs here]
Usually, PRPs are built into the Good Hygiene Practices (GHPs) or the work instructions prepared for each task when handling food. In the manufacturing sector, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) should be used. All processes must be in writing, making them easier to refer to. The procedures can be stored digitally, not necessarily as a paper document.
Well-written PRPs avoid unnecessary repetition, enabling the HACCP system to concentrate on specific significant product-handling process hazards that must be controlled to ensure safe food and control the general premises. These are mostly low-level or day-to-day dangers that may be found at many steps of handling food, such as [examples here].
What is Safer Food Better Business?
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) developed an alternative HACCP-based food safety system called Safer Food Better Business (SFBB), which was approved for small catering organisations, such as [Phil – examples here]. SFBB is divided into two parts. The first provides safe working methods, and the second contains documents to monitor the controls in place.
The safe working methods refer to the four Cs – Chilling, cooking, cross-contamination and cleaning. The management section provides information on use-by dates for chilling and freezing foods and includes a Food Information for Consumers Regulations 2014 guidance page.
The Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB) system information is available in several languages and is free of charge from both Workforce Training and the FSA.
All businesses should have completed records on file demonstrating that controls have been monitored and that the records were completed legibly by a person as the food was produced. Each document must be dated and signed to confirm the completed control was monitored. If any issues have occurred during the monitoring, these will need to be recorded, along with the action taken and by whom. The outcome of the action must also be recorded.
How can I learn about HACCP and SFBB?
Workforce Training delivers training for those businesses using the HACCP and SFBB systems, from new employees to those stepping into supervisory and management roles. These training courses are scheduled regularly across East Yorkshire. Read more about just some of our courses via the links below or head to our contact page if you’d like to get in touch.