IS THIS A LEGAL REQUIREMENT AND DOES IT AFFECT ME?
It will be legal requirement from the 1st January 2006 for all food businesses to have what is known as HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) based food safety management system in place. This a documented management system however, the extent and detail of documentation will depend upon the size and nature of business.
Safer Food Better Business (SFBB) is a toolkit developed by the Food Standards Agency and the catering industry to help small catering businesses meet this legal requirement.
DOES THE NEW LEGAL REQUIREMENT ONLY APPLY TO SMALL CATERING BUSINESSES?
This new legal requirement applies to all food businesses but the SFBB initiative has been specifically designed for small caterers because 60% of all food businesses are small caterers.
Further assistance along the lines of SFBB is being developed for other specific sectors of the food industry eg retailers.
Whilst this is principally aimed at small catering businesses, there is nothing to stop large businesses from adopting SFBB to use with their own food safety management system.
WHY HAS SFBB BEEN DEVELOPED?
It has been recognised that small businesses need help and support to comply with new laws. There are some 900,000 cases of food poisoning each year resulting in several hundred deaths. This costs £1.5 billion to the UK economy and reducing the level of food poisoning is a key part of the Food Standard Agency’s strategy.
WHAT IS SAFER FOOD BETTER BUSINESS?
It is a tool kit developed by the Food Standard Agency, the industry and local authorities to help small caterers meet the new requirements for a food safety management system to be in place. The toolkit comprises of safe methods fact sheets covering the 4 C’s i.e. cross contamination, cleaning, chilling, cooking and also food management. It also includes a diary section for businesses to make records. The Food Standards Agency have provided information together with fact sheets on their website.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?
If you are a small catering business, the benefits of taking up SFBB include:
- it helps you comply with the law
- it reduces the risk of food poisoning and consumer complaints
- helps protect business reputation
- helps with staff training
- helps improve management of food business
- helps to reduce some business costs (such as waste minimisation)
IS SFBB COMPLICATED?
No, it is a flexible jargon free and practical approach to setting out a food safety management system and relies upon safe method sheets relating to the critical areas of catering i.e. cross contamination, cleaning, chilling, cooking and food management and also provides a diary so that records can be kept.
WHAT DOES SFBB COST?
The cost of the tool kit is free. However, some businesses may choose to use a consultant to advise them about a food safety management system and is likely to be at a cost.
HOW DO I GET HOLD OF A SFBB TOOL KIT?
Unless you are attending a training course where the materials will be provided, you can download the information from the Food Standard Agency (FSA) website, or telephone: 0845 606 0667
IS HELP OR TRAINING AVAILABLE FOR CATERERS ABOUT SFBB?
All small catering businesses in the South Hams and Teignbridge districts have been contacted and invited on to free training sessions This was part of a partnership project funded by the Food Standards Agency. Unfortunately the funding training part of the project has now come to an end this means that training is no longer available by South Hams and Teignbridge Councils
ONCE I HAVE COMPLETED TRAINING DO I HAVE TO DO ANYTHING ELSE?
Yes, you have to implement SFBB into your business and maintain it so as to demonstrate during an inspection by the Council’s officers that you meet the requirements of the law.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON’T IMPLEMENT SFBB?
Firstly, the law requires you to have a food safety management system in place. It doesn’t require SFBB as such, but it does require something. SFBB has been developed for small caterers in mind to help them meet the law.
Secondly, as with any other law, you will need to comply with it. Failure to do so is an offence and there are enforcement options for the Council to take if you do not meet the law. These options include the service of legal notices requiring compliance or prosecution.
You may choose to write your own documented food safety management system or engage a consultant to do this for you however, this is likely to incur a cost.
DO I HAVE TO TRAIN MY STAFF?
All food businesses require their staff to be appropriately trained and the training in the food safety management i.e. SFBB is no exception. This is why SFBB has been developed in the way that it has so as to assist in staff training. SFBB is a very useful in-house training tool for food handlers.
IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE TO SFBB?
The law doesn’t stipulate SFBB as the standard but this tool kit has been developed for small caterers in mind. There are other systems available based on the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system which will meet the law, but SFBB is the simple preferred operation for small caterers and that is why the South Hams and Teignbridge Councils jointly embraced this initiative.
Other systems may involve a cost to your business and you will need to ensure that it meets the legal requirements.
IF I SIGN UP TO SFBB, DO I HAVE TO DO ANYTHING ELSE TO MEET THE NEW REGULATIONS?
SFBB is a toolkit for small catering businesses which assists them in meeting the new legal requirement to have a food safety management in place. Once you have embraced the toolkit and adapted it to your business you will need to maintain and review it.
In the regulations there is also a further requirement for the training of staff in the food safety management system. Other than this, there are few changes, and the previous legal requirements regarding cleanliness and the provision of a good structure etc are included in the new laws. If you have any particular query, please contact your Environmental Health Service.
WHY IS THE LAW CHANGING?
Mainly because of new regulations from the EU which set out more clearly the duties of food businesses to produce food safety and achieve consistency. The new law now covers the whole food chain from ‘farm to fork’. The new rules actually consolidate 17 existing EU measures into 2 and avoid a lot of duplication and inconsistencies.
IF I MOVE PREMISES CAN I TAKE SFBB WITH ME?
In general terms, SFBB is adaptable for all small catering businesses and moving premises should not be a problem, provided of course, that it is implemented in that business. If you have had the training, you should be able to implement it in your new premises however, there are likely to be some changes needed which reflect any different or varying activities and also the records of staff training.
DOES SFBB COME IN ANY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES?
This is currently being developed and is now available in a number of languages click here to enter the Food Standards Agency website
WILL SFBB MEAN MORE HARD WORK FOR BUSINESSES?
Other than the initial implementation which should take a few hours, it is estimated that on a daily basis any records will take only about 1 minute to complete.
WILL I STILL HAVE TO KEEP RECORDS ESPECIALLY ‘FRIDGE AND FREEZER TEMPERATURES’?
It is generally accepted to be good practice to keep records, particularly ‘fridge and freezer temperature records so as to show that you are doing things correctly. This will assist in any ‘due diligence’ defence if you are charged with any offence under the law. SFBB does require some record keeping, but mainly only of those activities where problems have arisen during the day.
The record keeping requirement reflects the size and nature of the business. This means that larger businesses with a greater risk to food safety will need to keep more records.
WHERE CAN I GET MORE ADVICE ON FOOD SAFETY GENERALLY?
South Hams District Council:
Teignbridge District Council:
Alternatively you can contact the Food Standards Agency:
