Food hygiene regulations
New food hygiene regulations came into force on 1 January 2006. These regulations are intended to cover all activities apart from the handling, preparation and storage of food for private domestic consumption. They will therefore apply to Congregational operations no matter how limited.
The hygiene principles underpinning the regulations are as follows:
- Compliance with microbiological criteria for foodstuffs
- Compliance with temperature control requirements
- Maintenance of the cold chain
- Appropriate sampling of foodstuffs to ensure compliance (e.g. use of temperature probe)
- Keeping premises (kitchens and all other accommodation used for the preparation or processing of food) clean and in good condition, with adequate facilities for cleaning food stuffs, washing utensils, etc
- Keeping temporary premises such as marquees or stalls clean, with adequate provision for hygienic preparation of food stuffs and washing utensils, etc.
The principal innovation in the regulations relates to the managing of food safety in line with what are known as Hazard and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. Essentially, these requirements relate to the minimising or managing of risk. HACCP is a food safety management system. Its main aim is to focus attention on critical points in an operation and to take measures to ensure that problems do not occur. The approach should be familiar to anyone with food safety training and should not involve anything unfamiliar to Congregational Food Safety Co-ordinators who have been on a training course.