Unlimited fines and up to two years in prison - is it worth the risk?
Every year millions of people suffer from the effects of food poisoning bacteria, with symptoms such as diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps. Many of these people will have eaten food which has been contaminated by poor food hygiene practices during preparation, storage or cooking. Some of these people may die. If you operate a food business, the importance of good food hygiene practices and procedures should not be under estimated.
Employers have a legal obligation to comply with the stringent rules of the Food Safety Act 1990 and the various Food Hygiene Regulations and it is these systems that are fundamental to a "due diligence" defence. Failure to comply with these regulations can carry heavy penalties for catering companies in the way of fines, poor staff morale, loss of business and a bad reputation and possibly even imprisonment.
On 1st January 2006 new food hygiene laws came into effect. The regulations require food businesses to implement and maintain food safety management procedures based on HACCP principles (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points). HACCP focuses on identifying the critical points in a process where food safety problems (or hazards) could arise and puts steps in place to prevent things from going wrong. Keeping records is also an important part of a HACCP system. Our team of professionals at Envesca has many years of experience.
We'll review your company's current food hygiene practices, make recommendations and update or improve your systems. We will also assist you with compliance issues from the local Environmental Health Officer, prepare and implement a Food Safety HACCP system and provide a wide range of nationally recognised food safety training at all levels. Our training courses are accredited by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH). Our courses are held either at your company premises or at a centralised location where we run Open Courses.
