New Year New HACCP

NEW YEAR NEWHACCP

New year is a time for new starts, new beginnings...and a new HACCP plan.

HEALTH&SAFETYMANAGEMENTCONSULTANTS

DID YOU KNOW... That HACCP was originally developed by the Pillsbury Company for NASA in the 1950’s to ensure that astronauts did not become ill from food while in space? Since then it has become the international standard for food safety , and in January 2006 it became a legal requirement for almost all EU food businesses to use HACCP as the basis of their food safety management system (EC 852/2004 Article 5).

ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED TO STOP ASTRONAUTS GETTING ILL FROM FOOD

IS IT A LEGAL REQUIREMENT TO HAVE A HACCP PLAN IN PLACE? Yes . Every food business needs to have a food safety management system in place , based on HACCP principles.

I HAVE HEARD THAT I ONLY NEED TO UPDATE MY HACCP PLAN EVERY YEAR, IS THIS CORRECT? No it isn’t. Your HACCP plan should be reviewed on a regular basis , at a minimum annually! There are also other occasions when it should be reviewed.

OKAY. SOWHEN ELSE SHOULD I REVIEWMY HACCP PLAN? You may not think that you need to update your HACCP plan especially since you just updated it last year but: Have you updated your menu recently? Hired new staff or brought in a new head chef? Bought some new kitchen equipment Changed suppliers for some of your products?

All of these scenarios mean that the risk factors and critical control points which were previously identified in your current HACCP plan have changed therefore you need to change and update your HACCP plan to reflect the current situation in your kitchens.

WE HAVE RECENTLY INTRODUCED A NEWCOOKINGMETHOD, DOES THAT NEED TO BE UPDATED INMY HACCP PLAN? If you incorporate new cooking methods or equipment e.g. sous vide that were not covered under your existing HACCP plan, then you need to update it . Each method of cooking comes with its own controls and it’s important that your HACCP plan accurately reflects exactly what is happening in the kitchen on a daily basis. A plan that covers your summer menu may not be relevant for your winter menu, and vice versa.

WHAT ABOUT STAFF TRAINING? Your current staff will have been trained to know your working procedures, food safety management system and the processes you have in place to monitor the CCP’s, make sure that critical limits are not breached and that food safety hazards are under control. It’s important for all newmembers of staff to undergo the same training to ensure that your food safety standards are maintained at the high standards you expect.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ENSURINGMY HACCP PLAN IS UP TO DATE? Ensuring that you regularly update your HACCP plan not only gives you peace of mind that you’re doing everything you can to reduce the risk of food safety incidents , it also means you are able to demonstrate legal compliance and would be able to support a due diligence defence should anything happen, which helps to protect your reputation .

WANT TO KNOWMORE?

Call our team today on 01252 728 300 or email [email protected]

If you would like one of our food safety experts to look over your current HACCP plan or are looking to implement a robust compliance system into your company then STS is your answer!

CONTACT US TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION 08450 50 40 60 [email protected] www.elas.uk.com

HEALTH&SAFETYMANAGEMENTCONSULTANTS