EU Food Hygiene Legislation
On the 15 September 1995 the EU Food Hygiene legislation came into force, ensuring common food hygiene rules apply to anybody who owns, manages or works in a food business –with the exception of primary food producers. The legislation was last updated in January 2006, to include primary food producer for first time; the new legislation covers all food business activity, including preparation, processing, manufacturing, transportation, distribution, handling, packaging, storage, selling and supplying. The legislation applies to all food sold publically or privately – including food sold for fund-raising purposes. Even people who clean equipment that comes into contact with food must adhere to the regulations set out in this act; hence the chances are, if you have anything to do with food, you need to adhere to these regulations.
What are the regulations?
For starters, all food businesses need to be registered with a competent authority, normally the local authority environmental health department. The basic requirements of the food hygiene legislation are that food premises should:
be clean and maintained in good repair.
be designed and constructed to permit good hygiene practices.
have an adequate supply of potable water.
have suitable controls in place to protect against pests.
have adequate natural or artificial lighting.
have sufficient natural or mechanical ventilation.
provide clean lavatories which do not lead directly into food
rooms.
have adequate hand-washing facilities.
be provided with adequate drainage.
Food preparation rooms should also have surfaces that are easy to clean, as well as adequate facilities for food storage, washing and removal.
Rather than offering a list of rules to follow, the regulations require proprietors of food business to identify food safety hazards and put in place safety controls to ensure that these hazards are eliminated. HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is a system designed to make this process simpler and easier to implement and it is highly recommended that anybody involved in the food industry is familiar with this system, or one similar.
All food handlers – anybody who directly handles packaged or unpackaged food, food equipment and utensils, or food contact surfaces – must be supervised and trained in food hygiene relevant to their work. It is the responsibility of the food businesses proprietor to identify any training that food handlers require; those who are responsible for developing and maintaining HACCP-based procedures must have received adequate training in the application of HACCP principles. It is also highly recommended that the proprietor and managers of food business also receive an appropriate level of food hygiene training, to ensure that they are capable of managing food safety within the business.
Where can I get this training?
There are a variety of companies available that offer food safety training for any type of food business, including catering, retail and manufacturing. These companies offer full training and instruction in food hygiene in accordance with the HACCP system.
Although the food hygiene legislation regulations stipulate neither the need to undertake a course of formal instruction, nor the need to hold a qualification; it is highly recommended that you possess some form of evidence of the training that you and your staff undertake. For this reason it is common practise for anybody involved in a food business to possess a certificate declaring that they have undertaken some form of food hygiene training.
What are the regulations?
For starters, all food businesses need to be registered with a competent authority, normally the local authority environmental health department. The basic requirements of the food hygiene legislation are that food premises should:
be clean and maintained in good repair.
be designed and constructed to permit good hygiene practices.
have an adequate supply of potable water.
have suitable controls in place to protect against pests.
have adequate natural or artificial lighting.
have sufficient natural or mechanical ventilation.
provide clean lavatories which do not lead directly into food
rooms.
have adequate hand-washing facilities.
be provided with adequate drainage.
Food preparation rooms should also have surfaces that are easy to clean, as well as adequate facilities for food storage, washing and removal.
Rather than offering a list of rules to follow, the regulations require proprietors of food business to identify food safety hazards and put in place safety controls to ensure that these hazards are eliminated. HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is a system designed to make this process simpler and easier to implement and it is highly recommended that anybody involved in the food industry is familiar with this system, or one similar.
All food handlers – anybody who directly handles packaged or unpackaged food, food equipment and utensils, or food contact surfaces – must be supervised and trained in food hygiene relevant to their work. It is the responsibility of the food businesses proprietor to identify any training that food handlers require; those who are responsible for developing and maintaining HACCP-based procedures must have received adequate training in the application of HACCP principles. It is also highly recommended that the proprietor and managers of food business also receive an appropriate level of food hygiene training, to ensure that they are capable of managing food safety within the business.
Where can I get this training?
There are a variety of companies available that offer food safety training for any type of food business, including catering, retail and manufacturing. These companies offer full training and instruction in food hygiene in accordance with the HACCP system.
Although the food hygiene legislation regulations stipulate neither the need to undertake a course of formal instruction, nor the need to hold a qualification; it is highly recommended that you possess some form of evidence of the training that you and your staff undertake. For this reason it is common practise for anybody involved in a food business to possess a certificate declaring that they have undertaken some form of food hygiene training.
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