Document your food safety management

The latest food safety regulations require everyone running a food business to have a documented food safety management system.

You will need to say what you do to make food that is safe to eat and have this written down. The amount of documentation you will need will be related to the type of food you prepare/handle and the risks presented by your business. To help with this the Food Standards Agency has put together Safer Food Better Business (SFBB).

Safer Food Better Business is a simple fact sheet that tells you how to deal with the potential hazards in your catering business - avoiding cross-contamination, cleaning, chilling and cooking (the 4 Cs). It is designed to be simple, and can easily be made to fit your catering business.

Each SFBB pack is split into five sections containing a number of fact sheets called Safe Methods. Typical safe methods would include instructions on Cooking Food Safely and Reheating, for example. The idea is that you look at the pack, decide which safe methods apply to your business and then follow them. There are about twenty methods in total covering aspects of the 4Cs but not all of them will apply to all businesses.

A simple diary is also provided for appropriate record keeping. This includes a four-weekly review to ensure that the document remains up-to-date and to allow common problems to be identified and addressed.

Your documented food safety management system doesn't have to be SFBB but any alternative may involve a lot of work for you if you do not already have such a system in place. 

Safer Food Better Business provides you with a documented food safety management system that will ensure you comply with the requirements of the new law as long as you follow it.It is designed to cut jargon, and can be easily recognised and will be taken into businesses all over England. It will help ensure that you produce safe food and may result in fewer visits by your food enforcement officer. The pack is free.