Consultancy Services

Food Safety/Hygiene and Health and Safety Law

1. Food Hygiene & Food Safety and Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP)

EC Regulation 852/2004 on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs requires food business operators to ensure that their food handlers are supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters relevant with their work activities. The operator or the person responsible for the development and maintenance of the food safety management procedure based on the principles of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) should receive adequate training in the application of HACCP principles. There is no legal requirement to hold a certificate. You must practice what you have learned or been taught.

At last HACCP principles explained in a logical simple form that can be applied to all food businesses. Under new legislation it is now a legal requirement to ‘document’ your risk assessment. About 95% of food sold is from small businesses with out a documented risk assessment. The new ‘Safer Food Better Business Pack’ is an effective starting point. In addition there is now a new qualification for supervisors and proprietors of all food businesses styled by the CIEH- Level 3 Award in Implementing Food Safety Procedures (HACCP) . This one day stand alone course is an effective tool to understanding food safety issues.

The main objective of this course is to understand controls; effectively manage them and improve methods of corrective action when things go wrong.

Anyone can get into trouble when preparing food; getting out safely with simple effective procedures is essential for all food businesses.

2. Licensing Act 2003

Wholesale changes in legislation relating to the sale of alcohol have now been in force since 24th November 2005.

Now, if you do not have a premises license you cannot sell alcohol or hot food and drink between 11pm and 5am.

Additionally a personal license is now required for every individual who supplies alcohol for consumption on or off the premises or who sells hot food and drink between the hours of 11pm and 5am.

A premises licence must specify an individual as the premises supervisor who must be the holder of a personal licence. There is a requirement for only one designated premises holder. However, any other person on the premises who supplies alcohol or who sells hot food and drink after 11pm must have a personal license.

An application can only be made for a personal license if you possess a nationally recognised licensing qualification for further information on this qualification, please feel free to call us 020 7792 9071.

3. Health and Safety Law

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations require the employers of non-food and food businesses to provide whatever information, instruction and training needed to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of their employees.

Remember you have a legal duty to display the Health and Safety poster. This poster specifies your duties to your employees, which include:-

- Consulting with them on matters concerning Health and Safety in the workplace
- Reducing the risk of injury where manual handling operations cannot be avoided
- Accessing the risks to their Health and Safety
- Reporting certain incidents to the authorities
- Making arrangements for implementing necessary Health and Safety measures
- Recording significant findings
- Drawing up a Health and Safety policy statement
- Co-operating with others sharing the same workplace
- Setting up emergency procedures
- Providing adequate first-aid facilities

For Further information on our one-day Level 2 Health & Safety course (CIEH) please visit Training page.

4. Health and Safety (Offences) Act becomes law

The Health and Safety Offences Act came into force this month (17 January 2009) signalling tougher penalties for those who breach health and safety regulations.

The new Act raises the potential punishments available to the courts in relation to health and safety offences, quadrupling the maximum fine in the magistrates courts from £5k to £20k.

Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive, Geoffrey Podger, urged that, although the Act does not impose any new duties on employers or businesses, it will act as a real deterrent to those who do not take their health and safety responsibilities seriously: “We will continue to target those who cut corners, put lives at risk, and who gain commercial advantage over competitors by failing to comply with the law.”

Welcoming the Act IOSH's immediate past president Ray Hurst commented: "We believe this Act will allow the courts to send a strong message to employers that health and safety offences are treated just as seriously as other offences, such as those involving financial misconduct. Employers need to remember that health and safety offences aren’t just about rule-breaking; they can actually ruin people’s lives."

Source: HSM News (30/01/09)