Food safety risk management

Food safety management is about complying with food hygiene and food standards to produce safe food. Food businesses must ensure that they have food safety management procedures in place. 

The best way of complying with these requirements is with Safer Food, Better Business, which is a practical, easy to use food safety management system based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System (HACCP) principles for small to medium sized businesses, devised by the Food Standards Agency.

It can assist your business by:

• helping to ensure food is safe for customers to eat
• helping business operators to comply with the legal requirements 
• helping you train staff in food hygiene matters

The Safer Food Better Business pack includes the following sections:

• safe methods on cross contamination, cleaning, chilling and cooking
• a supplier list
• staff training record
• a cleaning schedule template 
• day diary and 4 week diary review

The packs cost:

• £25 per copy of the full pack with diary (price includes posting and packing) 
• £15 per pack for diary refill sheets (price includes posting and packing)

Alternatively, download a free copy from the Food Standards Agency - Safer food, better business (SFBB).

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point System (HACCP)

For larger and more complex food businesses, HACCP is a way of managing food safety hazards. Food safety management procedures should be based on HACCP principles. 

HACCP involves:

• looking closely at what you do in your business, what could go wrong and what risks there are to food safety
• identifying any critical control points the areas a business needs to focus on to ensure those risks are removed or reduced to safe levels
• deciding what action you need to take if something goes wrong
• making sure that your procedures are being followed and are working
• keeping records to show your procedures are working

It is important to have food safety management procedures that are appropriate for your business.

A food hazard is something that could make food unsafe or unfit to eat. It's important you can identify those stages in your business when hazards could be present, so they can be removed or reduced to safe levels.

There are three main types of food safety hazards:

• microbiological - involving harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli 0157 
• chemical - involving chemical contamination such as pesticides, acrylamide, allergens
• physical - involving objects getting into food such as metal, glass, plastic, insects

Sous Vide food preservation 

Information on the sous vide method of preserving food by partial cooking followed by vacuum-sealing and chilling.

Contact Food Safety for more information.