Food Safety 18
Matters
Issue
Welcome to the latest edition of FSM written by the
Food Safety Team at East Hampshire District Council
Are you displaying
your current food
hygiene rating?
All businesses are
encouraged to display
their food hygiene rating
sticker. Please note that
certificates are no longer being
issued. The rating you display must
only be the most recent rating
issued by the Food Safety Team.
Previous ratings are out of date and
the certificates and stickers must be
removed from display.
Free food safety
management tools
‘My HACCP’ is a free online web tool recently launched by the Food Standards
Agency. It has been designed to guide small manufacturing businesses
through the process of identifying food safety hazards and controls so as to
produce a documented food safety management system based on Hazard
Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. While specifically designed
for the needs of small manufacturing premises, other small businesses such
as those focused on producing a few product lines may also find it useful, so
please take a look.
www.food.gov.uk/myhaccp
If you incorporate your food hygiene
rating into any publicity material
including flyers and menus, they
must be taken out of use if and
when a different rating is issued.
Displaying an invalid or out of date
rating or using this in any
advertising or publicity material
may be an offence under trading
standards legislation.
Safer
food,
better
business
For those of you operating small
catering businesses and using
Safer Food, Better Business
(SFBB) as your documented food
safety management system, here
is a reminder of the link to the FSA
website for printing off new copies
of the pack and diary refills
www.food.gov.uk/businessindustry/caterers/sfbb.
FactFile
Campylobacter
Recent issues of this newsletter
have focused on Listeria and
E.coli 0157, but in this issue we
would like to remind you about
Campylobacter, the most
common cause of food borne
illness in the UK. In fact
Campylobacter causes more
cases of illness than Salmonella,
Listeria and E. coli put together.
cause of
the most commonfood
borne illness in UK
The micro-organism grows at 42-45°C and is easily destroyed during
thorough cooking. They can survive under chilled and frozen
temperatures and are sensitive to an acidic environment.
Campylobacter is found in the intestinal tract of wild and
domesticated animals and birds including rats, mice, dogs, cats, dairy
cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry and wild birds. Some people also carry
the organism without being ill or having any symptoms.
Fit to
work?
If you work as a food handler or
with vulnerable groups such as the
under 5’s, the elderly or those whose
immune system is compromised, you
must inform your supervisor or
manager, as soon as possible, if you
are suffering from diarrhoea and/or
vomiting. If your symptoms started at
work, the manager must ensure that
any potentially contaminated surfaces
such as toilets, handles, taps and
work surfaces are thoroughly cleaned
and disinfected. Bleach must be used
to clean surfaces contaminated with
vomit. If you have been sick in the
kitchen, any food that may have
become contaminated must also be
disposed of.
You must be free of all symptoms for
48 hours before you return to work
and even then, you must pay
particular attention to hand washing.
There are exceptions to this rule for
infections such as E.coli 0157,
Salmonella typhi and paratyphi
(enteric fever) where faecal clearance
specimens will need to be submitted
before you return to work.
How infection
commonly occurs
Appropriate food safety
• Direct contact
This can be either, person to
person or from direct contact
with infected animals.
• Make sure food handle
rs report illness
and symptoms including
sickness and
diarrhoea. Do not allow ret
urn to work
until they have been sym
ptom free for 48
hours. (See article above)
• Eating contaminated meat
Contamination in the animals guts
can transfer onto the surface of
meat in the slaughterhouse.
Also, a significant proportion of
raw poultry is contaminated.
Campylobactor is easily destroyed
during thorough cooking.
• Cross-contamination
The transfer of bacteria from
raw meat and poultry onto
cooked/ready to eat foods.
This can occur directly from raw
meat touching cooked/ready to eat
foods. Or indirectly, through the
shared use of utensils and
preparation boards.
• Store raw meats and coo
ked/ready to eat
foods separately. Ensure
raw foods are
fully wrapped, covered and
stored
beneath cooked/ready to
eat foods so
they cannot touch or drip.
• Minimise the surfaces
raw meats come
into contact with. Many bus
inesses
purchase raw meat already
cut into
pieces so it is ready to coo
k with little
preparation beforehand.
controls
• Keep separate utensils
and preparation
boards for raw and cooked
/ready to eat
foods. Colour coded equ
ipment can help
achieve this.
• Ensure all equipment
used to prepare
raw meat is thoroughly cle
aned and
disinfected after use. An
y disinfectant or
sanitiser used should me
et the British
Standards specified in the
Food
Standards Agency guidan
ce ‘E. coli 0157
Control of Cross-contam
ination,
Guidance for food busine
ss operators and
local authorities (revised
July 2014).
These are BS EN 1276:1997
or BS EN
13697:2001. Copies of the
guidance and
further information is ava
ilable from
www.food.gov.uk/business
-industry/
guidancenotes/hygguid/ec
oliguide.
• Wash hands thoroughl
y after handling
raw meat and disinfect the
tap handles
regularly.
• Do not wash raw meat
and poultry.
Washing will not remove
the bacteria and
may cause it to spread via
water
splashing onto surfaces.
This was the
key message in Food Saf
ety Week during
June this year. Further info
rmation is
available from www.food
.gov.uk/chicken. • Ens
ure all raw meat products
are cooked
thoroughly to a core temper
ature of 75°C.
Update on Food Information Regulations 2014
Think
Allergy
In the last newsletter we advised you
that changes in the labelling of foods
containing allergens was on its way.
The EU Food Information for
Consumers Regulation will come into
force on 13 December 2014. It will be
enforced in the UK by the Food
Information Regulations 2014.
The new rules which require food
manufacturers to provide allergy
information on product labelling for
pre-packed foods, has now been
extended to food sold unpackaged.
The new regulations will apply to
loose foods such as meals in a
restaurant and foods wrapped and
then sold from the same premises (for
example sandwiches made and
packed in a sandwich bar). This will
have an impact on many food
businesses including sandwich bars,
deli counters, bakeries, restaurants
and take-away premises.
What do I need to do?
The aim of the new legislation is to
make it easier for people with food
allergies to identify the foods and
ingredients they need to avoid. As a
food business operator, it is your
responsibility to advise your
customers of the presence of any of
the 14 allergens listed in the
regulations. To do this you will need to
look at the products and ingredients
you purchase and identify the
allergens they contain, if any.
You could produce a reference sheet
with the name of the menu item and a
list of the allergens present against it.
Alternatively, you could keep copies of
the labels of the pre-packed foods and
ingredients purchased. This
information should be kept with your
food safety management system or in a
separate ‘allergen information folder’.
For your
own recipes
and products
made in the
premises, you
will need to keep a
list of the ingredients
and identify which ones
contain allergens. These recipes
could be kept in the allergen
information folder.
Being aware of the allergens present
To inform your customers of allergy
in the foods you sell is only one
information you could list the
aspect of managing food allergy and
allergens against the menu items on
intolerance. It is equally important
the menu or chalk board, or on the
that you think about how these
display labels in a delicatessen etc.
ingredients/products are handled
Alternatively you can provide a
and the risk of cross-contamination.
‘signpost’ which tells people where
Ensuring ingredients containing
the allergen information can be found.
allergens do not come into contact
It should be displayed in a prominent
with foods which do not contain
place such as on the service counter,
allergens is very important as this
at the till, or on the menu. For
‘cross-contamination’ could cause a
example, your sign could say ‘If you
problem for your customer.
require information on
food allergy and
intolerance please ask a
member of staff before
making your purchase’.
www.food.gov.uk/allergy
Do
wnload leaflets on ‘Aller
All staff must be trained
gy: what to consider
wh
en labelling food’ and ‘Al
in how to deal with such
lergen information for
loose foods’. These lea
enquiries and how to
flet provides lots of
information on the 14 all
access the information.
ergens.
The information can be
www.food.gov.uk/allergy
-training
provided orally but it
This site provides an int
era
ctive allergy training too
must be accurate and
l.
not a guess, which is
www.coeliac.org.uk pro
vides specific informati
on
why you need to have
on gluten.
the information written
The Food Information Re
down for reference.
gulations 2014 can be
acc
essed at
It must also be kept up
www.legislation.gov.uk/
to date with any
uksi/2014/1855/conte
nts
/m
ade
changes in your menu,
recipes or the
The EU Food Information
for Consumers Regulation
ingredients you use.
(1169/2011)
http://ec.europa.eu/fo
od/food/labellingnutritio
n/
foodlabelling/propose
d_legislation_en.htm
Useful information
on the web
Health&Safety
Risk assessments
The Fire Service used to dictate what
fire precautions a business must have
in place.
However, Fire Safety Regulations
changed a few years ago and it is now,
generally, the employer and/or owner
of a business who has responsibility
for the safety of its employees and
members of the public directly
affected by their business.
Health & Safety legislation requires an
employer to identify and assess the
hazards in their business. To think
about the controls needed to protect
people who may be affected by
these hazards.
The law does not expect all risks to
be eliminated, but for people to be
protected as far as is reasonably
practicable. Most, if not all, of these
controls will already be in place
because of recognised good practice.
However, there may be others which have
not been previously identified. This process is
known as a risk assessment. Completing it is both
important and straightforward.
The easiest way to complete a risk assessment is to draw up a table (illustrated
below). Complete it by taking a walk around the premises starting at the back
door and following the work flow. Speaking to staff during this process will
provide further information. As will looking back through the accident book.
What are the Whomight
What are
Does
Who will do
hazards?
beharmed we already
anything
this?
bythehazard
doing?
else need to
andhow?
be done?
Fire Safety
By when?
Date
completed
Risk assessment
When the table is complete, it will provide a suitable written record of your risk
assessment. Risk assessments should be reviewed when there is a significant
change to the business such as different work activities, new equipment or new
staff.
The types of hazards that may be relevant to your business include: slips and
trips, use of knives, manual handling, use of ladders, contact with cleaning
chemicals, gas appliances and contact with heat.
You can find examples of risk assessments for food businesses and other
premises at www.hse.gov.uk/risk/casestudies/index.htm
The Health and Safety Executive [HSE] website also contains up to
date information on many other health and safety topics making it
an invaluable free resource for small businesses, please take a look
Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire
Safety) Order 2005 business owners
and employers need to make decisions
on the level and type of fire safety
measures considered adequate for
their premises. Hampshire Fire &
Rescue Service has been given the
duty to enforce these new fire
regulations and will carrying out fire
safety audits of all businesses in
Hampshire, to ensure they meet
minimum safe requirements.
The fire service has promised that the
audits will be undertaken using
minimal disruption and will not place
unnecessary burdens on businesses.
They will not inspect premises without
a reason and also not place sanctions
on any business that asks for advice.
During the audit, the inspector will
expect to see that a proper fire risk
assessment has been carried out in
order to identify all fire hazards and
what measures have been put in place
to protect people from those hazards.
It is more important to get the safety
of people right rather than carrying out
rigid enforcement.
For more information visit
www.gov.uk/workplace-fire-safetyyour-responsibility
www.hantsfire.gov.uk/forbusiness.htm
Or contact Alton Business Fire
Safety Office on 02392 855180
www.hse.gov.uk
Contact Us
Trainingmatters
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health [CIEH] Level 2
Award in Food Safety in Catering is taught locally at:
Alton College - 01420 592211/0 www.altoncollege.ac.uk
Southdowns College - 0800 0560511 www.southdowns.ac.uk
Food and Safety Team,
East Hampshire District Council,
Penns Place, Petersfield,
Hampshire, GU31 4EX
Tel: 01730 266551
email: [email protected]