Safer Food Better Business
Food Standards Agency Funding Agreed
The Food Standards Agency [FSA] has agreed to fund the
Council’s costs of £44,100 for a 17-month programme of workshops
and one-to-one coaching sessions aimed at ensuring local caterers
comply with new food safety requirements.
The funding will be used by the Council’s Food Safety Team to
work in partnership with specialist consultants to introduce “Safer
Food Better Business” to over 260 independent catering businesses
operating in South Staffordshire.
“Safer Food, Better Business” [SFBB] is a new approach to food
safety management developed by the FSA in partnership with the food
industry and local authorities. It offers simple, easy to
use, practical guidance on compliance with new requirements for
effective, documented food safety systems. It provides
fact-sheets that managers of catering businesses can adapt for
their own establishments, enabling them to tackle any hazards in
their food preparation or handling process. A simple diary is
used to document appropriate record keeping. The approach has
been developed to allow businesses to manage food safety and
protect consumers whilst, at the same time, avoiding those burdens
that smaller, independent operators would encounter in developing
their own individual systems.
Prior to entering into a contract with CMi Ltd to provide the
specialist consultancy required, it was confirmed with this
Council’s Auditor that, as CMi was by far the best placed
organisation to provide those services (due to its role in the
development of the SFBB pack with the FSA) and as its fees would be
fully covered by FSA funding, there was no need to obtain quotes
from other companies.
CMi consultants will lead on the provision of 12 workshops for
local caterers at the Council Offices and this Council’s Food
Safety Officers [FSOs] will be in attendance at each workshop to
assist group activities and break out sessions. Two of the
workshops will have interpreters in attendance, specifically for
those caterers dealing with Indian and Chinese cuisine.
The workshops will be followed up by three-hour, one-to-one
coaching visits to the premises of each of the businesses
attending, where CMi consultants will provide practical advice and
guidance, tailored specifically to each of those business.
Interpreters will be provided, where necessary, to assist
one-to-one coaching at Indian and Chinese catering
businesses. All businesses will be provided with contact
details of this Council’s FSOs for any further advice and
assistance required.
Feedback will be requested from all businesses attending
workshops and customer satisfaction surveys of all businesses
receiving one-to-one coaching will be undertaken.
This Council’s FSOs will also evaluate each business’s
progress on SFBB implementation during inspections programmed at
least two months after the one-to-one coaching visits by CMi.
Details will be recorded on the FSA’s Progress Evaluation
Database.
Jane Rowley, this Council’s Senior EHO (Food Safety) will be
the project manager; monitoring milestones agreed with CMi and the
FSA, making application for stage payments of funding and providing
monthly progress reports to the Head of Environmental Health
(Commercial) Services.
The funding agreed with the FSA includes £2,115 to cover the
costs of employing contractors to undertake food safety inspections
that would have been carried out by FSOs involved with workshops
and SFBB evaluation visits.
Food Safety Officers are contacting local businesses directly
and through the Council’s Food Safety Newsletter that is
distributed regularly to all food businesses in the district, with
a view to the first workshop being undertaken at the Council
Offices in October. Completion of the programme is expected
by the end of March 2008.
Main Contact
Jasmin Thomas
Senior Environmental Health Officer
Telephone: (01902) 696301