1. Food safety management system

On 1 January 2006 new food hygiene regulations were put in place which require food businesses to have a documented food hygiene management system in place.

Food businesses were already required to produce food that is safe to eat, but the new regulations mean you must be able to show what you do to make food safely and provide written evidence of this.

To help you to do this, a free pack called 'Safer food better business' is available from the Food Standards Agency (FSA). To order a copy of the pack, contact the FSA on:

t: 0845 606 0667

f: 020 8867 3225

email: foodstandards@ecgroup.uk.com

Using the pack in your business will help you to:

• comply with the new regulations
• show what you need to do to make food safely
• train staff
• protect your business's reputation Food can be contaminated in three main ways:
• improve your business eg by wasting less food. • bacterial – eg under cooking of food allowing food poisoning bacteria to survive

Food can be contaminated in three main ways:

• bacterial – eg under cooking of food allowing food poisoning bacteria to survive
• physical – eg dirt, glass, insects
• chemical – eg spillage of cleaning materials.

You must therefore, take steps to ensure contamination does not occur.

1.1 Bacterial contamination

The main causes of bacterial contamination resulting in food poisoning are:

• insufficient cooking of food
• poor storage temperatures
• cross contamination.

1.2 Cooking and reheating of food

To kill food poisoning bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella etc, food must be thoroughly cooked. This means ensuring you achieve a minimum temperature at the centre of the food of 75circC for at least 30 seconds.

To reheat food safely, it must be done quickly and also achieve a minimum temperature of 75circC for 30 seconds in the centre. In addition food must never be reheated more than once.

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