Safer Food, Better Business

Food hygiene legislation has changed - new requirements came into force on January 1st 2006 that affect food businesses. With food hygiene legislation there is one major new requirement.

The new food laws bring together and extend the requirements of the current UK food hygiene laws, but here’s the important bit – if you run a food business you will need to have a documented food safety management system. In other words, you will need to say what you do to make food that is safe to eat and have this written down. 

The amount of documentation you will need will be related to the type of food you prepare/handle and the risks presented by your business. A full Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system is more suited to food manufacturers who produce larger amounts of similar foods. This system doesn't easily work in catering such as a restaurant or pub kitchen where the menu continually changes and is made up of lots of different menu items, and many people have had difficulty in understanding it. 

We therefore needed to consider how these smaller food businesses comply with these new requirements without introducing an unnecessary burden. Following extensive consultation with the catering industry the Food Standards Agency has developed Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB). 

For more information contact the Food and Safety Regulation Team.

Safer Foods Better Business (SFBB)

Visit the Food Standard Agency’s website to get SFBB packs and replacement diary pages