The Safer Food Better Business pack has been developed to help
small catering businesses such as restaurants, cafés and takeaways
comply with regulations that applied from 1 January 2006. These new
regulations mean that you must be able to show what you do to make
food that is safe to eat and have this written down.
The pack is based on the principles of HACCP (Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Points) but has been simplified to cut out a lot
of the jargon.
Who is the pack for?
It is aimed at small catering businesses, such as restaurants,
cafes and takeaways and is provided free of charge.
Benefits of using the pack
Using the pack in your business will help you to:
- comply with the new legislation
- show what you do to make food safely
- train staff
- protect your business's reputation
- improve your business e.g. by wasting less food
How does the pack work?
The pack is made up of a series of fact sheets based on
four key areas :
- cross-contamination;
- cleaning;
- chilling;
- cooking;
The caterer works through the fact sheets and selects those that
are applicable to them and then adopts or adapts them to their
business as necessary.
Do I need to keep lots of daily records?
No, you do not need lots of daily records. When you have worked
through and completed all the safe methods, you will have a record
of what to do in your food business to make sure that food is safe
to eat. You only need to do this once, unless the way you do things
changes a lot.
In Safer Food Better Business, filling out the diary is the only
daily record. This should take just one minute, unless you have
something special to write down.
Who should take charge of the pack?
The owner and manager should work together to make sure that
they use the pack effectively.
If you are the owner: you should discuss with
your manager (if you have one) how to make the pack work in your
business.
If you are the manager: Talk to the owner of
the business about the pack. If you are responsible for the
day-to-day running of your business, then you are the best person
to work through the pack, talking to the kitchen staff.
What other information and advice is available?
You can order a free copy of Safer Food
Better Business by telephoning the Food Standards Agency on
0845 606 0667.
In addition there are modified packs available:
Safer Food Better Business for Retailers
Safer Food Better Business for different cuisines
Safer Food Better Business in other languages