Food Safety and HACCP News

Is the food industry really all about confidence?

2008-09-17T14:42:00.002+01:00

Comments on the 'Rogue Restaurants' series (BBC1)

Anyone who managed to catch BBC1's recent 'Rogue Restaurants' series will have witnessed a healthy serving of shock gasp moments (20million E.coli bacteria on a kitchen cloth in one pub) mixed up with the predictable and hammed-up pseudo investigative journalist meets people champion patter along the lines of the previous incarnations of the Rogue trader series.

Clearly the purpose and vested interest of this site is to sell a Food Safety Management System, but what is scary is how many times the basics are not in place, not of a Safe Food System, but just sheer essential basics.

These must have been real bad places mustn’t they? Pardoning the various attempts at food based puns in the above, what the series did expose was the serious flaws in knowledge and worse, that actually they didn't have to look hard at all, to find widespread bad practice when it comes to getting the real basics of safe production right, and I mean real basics.

So horror stories or horror facts? In our time advising businesses on food production we have seen pretty much the whole weird and wonderful gambit of food production, from shocking negligence, to the strangest wilful deliberate introduction of foreign bodies into food (use you imagination and you won't be far out).

But is what really underpins a good profitable food business actually not a great product or clean floors, but 'confidence?' It seems so reflecting on this series.
People having confidence in you not to harm them, you’re local EHO Environmental Health Officer having confidence in you and your practices. How about your bank manager having confidence in you to do produce good attractive and safe food, and how about you as the owner having complete confidence your staff are doing the right thing all of the time. Still 100% confident?

On holiday recently in Cornwall we visited a thriving takeaway in real backwater with a population of less than 1000. Even a relatively minor food poisoning outbreak would probably kill the business off in one go in such a small and connected community right? The truth about food businesses in much larger locations is surprisingly similar. Even in major cities, most restaurants, takeaways and particularly sandwich shops tend to serve a surprisingly small number of repeat customers, where confidence in you is paramount to viability and profitability.

Programmes like Rogue Restaurants should if nothing else seek to remind you that the food business is a confidence business, and as an industry we still have yet to clean up our act when it comes to food production. With almost 50% of food businesses visited by EHOs each year failing standards and incurring notices and even closures, even if you respect your income more than your customer’s safety, you should still be looking at your systems with a view to compliance with the recent law changes on safe food.

That or you just might see the black van of Rogue Traders sitting outside your premises, apparently bristling with enough high-tech equipment to sniff out a million or two E.coli bugs, all the way from the pavement…

Hygiene on the High Street

2008-07-30T14:05:00.002+01:00

So you thought the retail food brands on the high street were hygienic and provided safe food?

Last month The Independent newspaper ran an article that throws this assumption out of the window!

It would appear that some of our well known food brand chains are very lax when it comes down to food safety, cutting corners, not documenting activities, incorrect or no monitoring whatsoever, and little if any, proper training for staff.

To see this article and avoid getting ill at one of these outlets go to http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/exposed-the-hygiene-scandal-on-the-high-street-846923.html

Also in this article, see what Hugh Pennington has to say about it all.

Food Safety Problems

2008-07-25T18:21:00.003+01:00

Only last month a Royal Institute of Public Health (RIPH) lecture in London highlighted the problems with Food Safety.
The Royal Institute of Public Health were honoured to have William Marler of Marler Clark LLP, talk about some of the most severe cases of food poisoning in the United States of America.

William surprised the audience that attended; by saying 76 million Americans get food poisoning every year, a very frightening statistic!
To quote William Marler " having a documented Food Safety Management System was the bedrock to providing safe food "

This is as important in the United Kingdom as it is in the USA.

Mr Marler has been involved in representing clients, in some very high profile cases in the USA, over many years. Some of these cases involve many well known brands, who should know better and be much more vigilant, but unfortunately do not and consequently put the general public at risk.

To look further go to www.marlerclark.com

EastGB launch Food Safety Management Course

2008-06-17T19:01:00.002+01:00

Why do we need a Food Safety Management System (FSMS)?

Since the change in the Food Hygiene Regulations act in January 2006, ALL food and drink businesses in the United Kingdom now MUST have in place a documented food safety management system, which includes the principles of HACCP.

The Food Hygiene Regulations 2006 state,
1.) A food safety management system must be implemented and records kept to demonstrate this
2.) Businesses must identify steps critical to food safety & ensure adequate food safety procedures are identified, implemented, maintained & reviewed using HACCP principles

What is included in The Safer Food System on-line course?

The latest cutting edge technology using video to incorporate accelerated learning, interactive and informative to watch. Videos show live kitchens, award winning chefs and award winning retail premises to help you understand and help set up your own food safety management system.

Incredibly entertaining, almost better than face to face, this is what you get when you click purchase,
1 - How to set up your own Food Safety Management System.
2 - Understanding HACCP principles and how to assess risks in your food business.
3 - Every downloadable form you will ever need.
4 - Grouping Process Flow Charts.
5 - An Expert tutor available on e-mail, to help you every step of the way, with real life tips and examples.
6 - Your very own help and support centre that you can contact directly to help you.
7 - A Nationally accredited assessment.

The Safer Food System has taken 18 months to write and another 7 months to film
It will enable you to comply with the law,It will make your business more profitable,It has been developed to help you if you know nothing, or if you know lots, it is so simple yet so comprehensive.

By now you are probably wondering how you can purchase The Safer Food System

The Safer Food System is now available to purchase at £359 plus VAT, just click HERE to purchase thank you.

For a free trial of this Safer Food System click HERE

We look forward to helping you comply with the law and making your food business more profitable.