Food Hygiene - Food Hygiene and the Law
The main piece of legislation that is in place to protect the consumer is the Food Safety Act 1990, this act is an umbrella for ministers to make regulations in an efficient manner.
The majority of legislation in the UK that concerns food safety is now set out by the European Union. In January 2006 new regulations were introduced that extended the responsibilities of all food handlers from farm all the way through to the plate.
These regulations include:
- The owner of the food business is made responsible for ensuring a food handler has received sufficient training in food hygiene so that all tasks can be carried out safely.
- All food businesses are required to have a food safety management system based on the principles of HACCP.
- To endure that management systems are implemented effectively and that the person responsible has the appropriate training and support.
Food handlers are legally obligated to:
- Avoid exposing food to the risk of contamination
- Report to their supervisor if suffering from upset stomachs, infected wounds, colds and coughs
- Keep themselves and their clothing clean and personal protective equipment worn when appropriate.
A premises where food is prepared for public consumption should be:
- Registered with the relevant local authority before the business can open
- Kept well maintained and clean and tidy at all times
- Waste should be stored and disposed of correctly
- Floors, walls and food preparation areas should be well maintained and easily cleaned
- Adequately supplied with clean water, drainage, well lit and well ventilated
- Provided with hot and cold water or other means for cleaning equipment
- Adequate toilet and hand washing facilities for employees (should be placed away from food preparation areas)
- Pest management system in place
Date Marking of Foods
Perishable foods must display a “use by” label where the food must be used up to the date shown (including the date shown). Other foods can display a “Best Before” label advising when the food is at its best to consume but can be eaten after the date shown. However it is against the law to sell food that is unfit for human consumption.
Foods such as beer, fresh fruit and vegetables and butchers’ meat do not require a date mark unless sold pre packed.
Your local authority is responsible for enforcing this legislation and these inspections are usually carried out by an Environmental Health Practitioner (EHP) and have a statutory obligation to enforce the food hygiene regulations.
They can enter a premises at any reasonable hour and take samples of food for analysis.
If an EHP believes that a food operator is failing to comply with hygiene regulations he can serve one of two notices:
Improvement Notice – This identifies how the operator is not complying with the regulations and impose a reasonable amount of time ensure that the points are rectified. This notice would be issued if there was no immediate danger to the public.
Prohibition Notice – This is issued when an officer identifies an immediate danger to the public and can close all or part of the premises immediately. An application must then be submitted within 3 days to the magistrate’s court and if sufficient evidence is produced, will enforce the notice stating whether or not the business is to stay closed and impose restrictions on what the manager can do.
The local authority may also decide to prosecute which can lead to potentially unlimited fines and 2 years in prison.
A person can claim defence by demonstrating that they have taken all reasonable precautions and exercised ‘due diligence’. This could be demonstrated by presenting records of HACCP’s, temperature charts etc and it is important that all documents are current and up to date.
Finished? Try some sample test questions here. (Answers can be found in the download section)