This week the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) announced that food businesses are cutting back on food safety and hygiene training, possibly to the detriment of the general public’s health.

The CIEH reported the shocking findings after sending a survey out to over 5,000 food safety trainers and training centres.

The survey was sent out to all CIEH trainers during the fist week of August 2010.

Over half of food safety trainers thought that business was being impacted by the poor economic climate, while 70% of food safety trainers noted that it was likely to be ‘cost cutting’ measures that have caused businesses to stop investing in training.

The CIEH are calling this situation a potential ‘food poisoning time bomb’; they’re worried that the economic downturn, cost saving measures and cuts in expenditure are going to lead to the public being put at risk as it’s more likely that poor food hygiene could lead to outbreaks of food poisoning.

David Kidney of the CIEH says:

“In extreme cases failure to comply with food safety legislation can even result in a prison sentence and/or being prohibited from running a food business in future. In over a quarter of the prosecutions which have led to the business manager being prohibited since January 2009, failure to comply with the legislation on instruction and/or training was one of the offenses.”

If you’re thinking of cutting your expenditure and sacrificing food training certificates for your staff, you should know that there are many cost-effective training programs available online.

The CIEH are reporting that the growth of online food safety training solutions has recently risen, and we’re projecting that this is related to the cost cutting measures!

The CIEH gives some great advice though, if you’re thinking of purchasing food hygiene training online, you should listen to it!

“Make sure the course you choose is fit for your purpose and that you are not wasting your precious resources on cowboy companies.”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

Food Hygiene Training

If you’d like affordable, accredited food hygiene training, contact us today.  We even offer discounts on multiple training courses, so all of your staff can hold a Basic Food Hygiene Certificate.

Last week the Food Standard’s Agency wrote to all the local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to inform them of a brand new launch this autumn.

From the 1st of October the national Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) will be rolled out by all 22 local authorities in Wales and by many ‘early adopter’ local authorities in the South West, Easy and South East in England too.

The new scheme has been re-branded for the launch, which aims to make the food hygiene ratings system easier for consumers to use.  It’s been reported that the old ‘star’ rating has gone and a numerical scale will take its place.

Catriona Steward, Head of the Food Hygiene Ratings Team said:

“We are very pleased with the look and feel that the new branding gives to the scheme as it makes it easy for consumers to see at a glance what the hygiene rating is.”

The new ratings scheme is a welcomed development for most restaurant and cafe owners, who find the current service confuses consumers.

The Swindon Reporter last week quoted Phil Saunter calling the system “confusing”:

“Customers thought it had something to do with the quality of the food whereas it was just about how clean the premises were.  You had Michelin starred places only getting two stars because they didn’t keep their fridge temperature records properly, but McDonald’s getting five stars for instance. “

But Mr Saunter also thinks the total re-branding is a little unnecessary:

“They are also going to be changing all the branding, signs and letterhead, which sounds to me like a complete waste of money, especially when the Government announced that it is going to scrap the FSA.”

Swindon isn’t one of the early adopters of the new scheme and Phil Thomas, head of commercial regulation at Swindon Council, said:

“We will explore this option further and see if it is something we wish to adopt in Swindon when clearer proposals have been presented by the FSA.”

What do you think?

Are you happy the FSA are re-launching the scheme or do you think it’s just a waste of time and money?

Let us know in the comments!

Food Hygiene Certificates:

If you own a restaurant or cafe, you may wish to ensure your team are fully trained so your own establishment scores highly on the ‘Scores on the Doors’ scheme.  You can get a food hygiene certificate in as little as two hours by visiting our website: click here.

Ever wondered if the dingy restaurant in the village is OK to eat at, or if the dodgy-looking takeaway down the road has good food hygiene standards?

Perhaps you’re a worried Mum, concerned about your kid’s school dinner hall?  Is it clean?  Are the dinner ladies adhering to food hygiene practices?

Well now you can find out if those places are rat-ridden holes or clean gleaming establishments with just a few clicks of the mouse.

How?  By checking out this website: it allows you to find the cleanest, most hygienic places to eat in your area:

http://www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk

About ‘Scores on the Doors’:

Scores on the Doors lets you and I see businesses’ and schools’ hygiene ratings by searching through its online database.

You can check the hygiene ratings for any takeaways, pubs, clubs, schools, restaurants and food halls in your area (as long as your council is one of the 200 participating in this scheme!)

You can even search for hygiene ratings in different cities too, perfect if you’re out for the day or visiting friends!

You’ll be able to find out:

• If your kid’s school kitchen is hygienic
• If local restaurants boast top standards
• Which eateries were only given average marks
• Where to avoid (unless you want food poisoning!)

Choose hygienic places to eat:

When you learn that there were over 27,000 cases of food poisoning reported in England and Wales during 2008, it’s not surprising that you’re looking for somewhere clean and hygienic to eat, to avoid becoming sick.

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health is certain that there could be up to an astonishing 40,000 cases left unreported in addition to that figure.  (See: http://bit.ly/a9OMIb)  That really is quite a shocking amount of food poisoning!

So we’re happy to finally find a website, which lets us choose hygienic places to take our friends and family to eat.  It means we can avoid the restaurants, cafes and burger vans that have very poor hygienic standards.

Instead, we can reward high-rating businesses with our custom as a ‘thank you’ for making the extra effort to score top marks.

We love the transparency of this scheme!

Because the scores are placed online for everybody to see, businesses are encouraged to improve their food hygiene standards, and to keep their marks high to encourage new custom.

All kitchen visits are unannounced:

To ensure businesses aren’t gaming the system by only having a tidy up before an inspection, the officers call in unannounced.  They check that food is being cooked safely following all the correct procedures and food storage, food preparation and cleanliness are checked also.

Check out food hygiene ratings on the go!

If you’re lucky enough to own an iPhone, you can download a fabulous app from Scores on the Doors, which uses augmented reality to give you restaurant scores on the move.

If you have Radar on your iPhone, you can simply point your iPhone at any listed food business to see how many stars it has!

The app can also pick up your location and list eateries close to you, complete with scores!

Perfect if you’re walking around in a busy, unfamiliar city!  This app will ensure you only spend money in the cleanest, most hygienic eateries!

Even better:  This app is free and it’s compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Do you own a food business?

Make sure your chefs are up to standard:

Don’t risk a low grade on your food hygiene inspection, ensure your kitchen staff are fully trained in the latest food handling procedures today!

Get your food hygiene certificate online:

• It’s quick: I’ll take under two hours
• It’s accredited by the CPD
• Certificates are posted the next working day
• This training meets UK/EU legal requirements

Find out more by clicking here.

One of the key ways to prevent the spread of microorganisms is maintaining high levels of food hygiene, both in the kitchen and on your person. Here are some basic rules to follow before handling food:

1) Wash your hands with hot water and soap, preferably anti-bacterial soap. Remember to wash under your nails as well!
2) Wash your hands again if changing from handle uncooked to cooked food.
3) After washing your hands, don’t be foolish and dry them on a dirty towel! Use a clean or disposable towel.
4) Cover cup any cuts or sores on your hands arm wrists.
5) Remove all hand jewellery; it is easy to forget how many germs can gather around rings and bracelets – take them off!
6) If you are ill, especially if you’re suffering from stomach upsets or colds, do not handle food at all!

After preparing food, make sure you clean all utensils thoroughly and wipe down all surfaces. Use different cloths for different areas and be sure to keep all cleaning equipment as clean as possible; there’s no point wiping down a surface with a dirty cloth!

Four years ago, the Food Standards Agency recommended the creation of a set of principles to apply to front-of-pack labelling, to help consumers make quick, healthy and informed choices regarding nutrition. Although the majority of the food industry now adheres to some form of FOP labelling, there are still no set principles – making the conflicting labelling somewhat confusing for consumers. For example, altthough all FOP labels reflect the same nutrients – salt, sugars, fat and saturated fat – various schemes use colours other than the recommended green-yellow-red traffic light system. This means it takes longer for cosumers to compare product at a glance, defeating part of the point of clear FOP labelling.

However, in 2009, in independent study discovered the most popular and ease-to-use combination of labelling was the traffic light system with the words ‘high, medium and low’ and % Guideline Daily Amounts. Hence, this week the Food Standards Agency will dicuss proposals for a unified, but flexible system of FOP labelling that will require manufacturers and retailers to use a combination of these labelling techniques. Chief Executive, Tim Smith, said the FSA “appreciate and understand that food businesses are starting from different positions. Our proposals respond to what consumers want but also provide some flexibility for business.”

Cookits are sets of cooking equipment for schools, designed to help children learn the basics of cooking. Each set has enough equipment for a class of a dozen children and now the FSA is offering grants to half the cost of these sets for primary schools! To apply for one of these grants, simply fill in this form and send it off by the 19th March 2010.

Since there is more to cooking than the practical element, Cookit sets also contain recipes, activities and food hygiene advice, designed to give children a well-rounded nutritional education. It is hoped that, by gaining these skills at a young age, children will be inspired to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle for the rest of their lives.

Anita Cormac, Executive Director for Focus on Food, said “The Cookit is a fantastic concept that has been really well received by all primary schools [...] We also understand how carefully schools need to manage their budgets. The Cookit has been carefully designed and trialled to ensure it effectively supports cooking in schools. The equipment is robust, made to high safety specification and represents good quality and value.”

This project to bring food hygiene and nutrition further into the education system, without putting undue extra stresses on budgets, is a fantastic step forwards in many respects.

Tuesday 9th March will see the Food Standards Agency put on a debate to investigate the public’s attitude toward food, food hygiene and nutrition, as well as the role of the government and food industries in creating decent attitudes towards food. Everbody is invited to the lecture (though obviously not everybody will fit into the British Library), which is called ‘Are We What We Eat?’ and will likely be a great insight into our changing attitudes towards nutrition.

Although the FSA is currently running multiple projects and food awareness campaigns, this particular event is being held as part of the ‘Myths and Realities’ series of debates at the British Library; events that challenge everyday myths in a wide range of subject areas, as a way of educating the population and finding solutions to common problems. Leading figures featuring in this debate will include University Professors, freelance medical writers and members of the FSA. Although most have impressive titles, I can’t help but be dubious about the University of Nottingham’s ‘Special Professor of Sociology’… A ‘Special Professor’ sounds bizarre enough, let alone one in the pseudo-field of Sociology – but that’s not the point of this post.

The point is that this is likely to be a fasincating insight into the reality behind the nonsense we read in the press every day.