- Over 7000 takeaways fail their Food Standards Agency/local authority audits. This is clearly unacceptable; these vendors are endangering the public.
- How food is handled, stored, prepared and cooked is vital to the wellbeing of consumers and staff and the optimisation of food safety levels.
- Food safety management systems must have their basis in HACCP – Hazards Analysis Critical Control Points – to adhere to UK and EU legislation.
- Food safety management systems have been mandatory in England for over a decade so if you don’t have one then you need one, now.
- Every member of your team should receive food safety training by law.
- HACCP training ensures food safety, adherence to legislation and best practices.
HACCP and food safety training courses include all aspects of the food preparation, manufacture and retailing, cross contamination, foodborne illnesses and their sources and how to identify and manage risks. Cleaning, premises maintenance and waste are also considered.
From the cleaner to trainee, from part time to full time, supervisors to business owners, it is their joint responsibility to ensure food safety is guaranteed.
For example:
- Do staff wash their hands properly?
- Are raw meats in the correct position in the fridge?
- Is the chopping board cleaned adequately between processes?
- Is the same space used to prepare washed and unwashed vegetables?
- How often is a work surface cleaned?
- Are deep cleans required?
- How fast does bacteria spread?
- How does bacteria reach the consumer and cause illness?
- Do staff use their mobile phones in the kitchen?
- Why is risk assessment important?
Food safety training is the only way to educate and refresh team members knowledge so that it can be proactively used in the workplace.
Below is the HACCP food safety management systems level 2 (GCSE equivalent) course outline:
- The HACCP food safety management system.
- Risk awareness.
- The purpose of the HACCP system.
- The benefits of HACCP.
- How to use HACCP.
- The 7 principles of HACCP.
- Establishing HACCP food safety management systems.
- Identifying HACCP procedures.
- Food hygiene.
- Assessing critical control areas.
- Types of contamination and their sources.
- Control methods to prevent contamination.
- How to reduce/eliminate risks with HACCP.
- Understanding how HACCP procedures reduce risks.
- Tools for workplace safety and staff competency.
- Hazards recognition and critical control points.
- Corrective actions at all levels of employment.
Management and supervisors can progress to level 3 HACCP food safety management systems training, this is equivalent to A/AS level qualifications.
C.I.E.H. Food safety training is available from basic to managerial levels and should be retaken if a team member’s training was carried out 3 or more years before. They may still be working in line with older legislation which could be detrimental so don’t risk not training them.
Online courses, training centre based and on premises training courses are available from industry specialists including Food Alert in London. Please contact them today. Ignorance is not bliss any more than Salmonella is pleasant.
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