As anyone who has been following this blog will know, food safety regulations don’t just apply to those people to whom working with food is a fundamental part of their profession; the latest food hygiene legislations cover just about anybody whose job could bring them into contact with food at any time.

Last week, the FSA launched a new guide in their Safer Food, Better Business range; an information pack designed to help childminders comply with the latest food hygiene legislations.  Although it may seem obvious that childminders have a role involving knowledge of food safety, it is not immediately apparent that they are obliged to comply with EU Food Hygiene Legislation.   Specifically designed around the role of the childminder, this guide makes their legislated responsibilities easy and quick to handle, with a minimum of paperwork.  Amongst other things, it includes advice on food allergies, feeding babies and the cleaning, cooking and chilling involved in food preparation.  Like other Safer Food, Better Business packs, the childminder’s pack utilises a system known as reporting by exception; by only writing down problems, or things that go wrong, there is a minimum of extra work involved, yet a simple way of conducting reviews to identify persistent food safety problems!

Safer Food, Better Business is the Food Standards Agency’s approach to ensuring that small businesses fully understand their responsibilities under the EU Food Hygiene Legislation.  In the form of a series of packs and guides, the Safer Food, Better Business approach has been designed to help these small businesses create and manage food safety systems to ensure they are complying with the relevant food hygiene requirements.  Due to the fact that any business involved with food has to comply with the legislation, the packs are specifically designed around a variety of different food businesses, like caterers and restaurants, as well as professions in which food service is a secondary role – childminders and care home employees, for example.

The accompanying DVD, ‘Working with Food?  What you Need to Know before You Start’, helps food businesses provide food safety training to their staff and is available in sixteen different languages – making it as accessible as possible to the majority of the population.  To this extent, there is no excuse for businesses, no matter how small, not to attempt to ensure they are complying with food hygiene legislation.