New EU Food Regulations

Since the 1 January 2006 EU Regulations have come into force, replacing previous food hygiene legislation.

The EU Regulations place duties on food businesses which they must comply with.

Also new domestic legislation has come into force which lays down the enforcement powers for local authority food inspectors.

In the main the duties under the EU Regulations are the same as they were under previous food hygiene legislation. But there is one major change which all food business operators need to be aware of and be taking appropriate steps in their business to ensure they comply with the new requirement.

The main change to requirements is that:

All food businesses must implement food safety management procedures based on the principals of HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control point).

These food safety procedures have to be written down.

Some food business may already have documented food safety management systems in place and as long as they are compliant will not need to make any changes.  The food safety team will be able to advise as to whether current systems are compliant during routine inspections.

But in many cases food business operators will need to establish food safety management systems and have these written down.

But don’t panic – help is available:-

The Food Standards Agency have put together a food safety management system called Safer Food, Better Business.  This has been developed for small to medium sized catering businesses and if used correctly will help food businesses to comply with this new regulation.  For more information please see the Safer Food, Better Business page.

The Food Standards Agency has also recently produced a version of safer food, better business for retailers.  For more information please see the safer food, better business page.

The EU Regulations also have made changes to who is responsible for food safety within a food business and food safety training.

All food handlers are responsible for food safety in a food business.  In the unlikely event of enforcement action being necessary the EU Regulations now provides for this action to be taken against the person responsible for food safety in the business, in many cases this will be the proprietor of the business but could be the manager/supervisor or other appointed person.

The EU Regulations also require that food handlers must be supervised and instructed an/or trained in food hygiene matters relevant to the level of work they do.  For more details see the food hygiene training section.

Home Authority

This is a voluntary scheme developed for local authorities so that one authority acts as your Home Authority and can carry out a number of roles including offering advice to help you maintain high standards and acting as a contact point for others that may have queries and complaints about your business.

If you would like more information then please contact this office.

Building on the above from 6 April 2009 the Primary Authority scheme will be introduced whereby companies will have the right to form a statutory partnership with a single local authority.  Details of the scheme can be found on the LBRO (Local Better Regulations Office) website.