10/9/2010 -

Restaurant, Catering and Hospitality E-bulletin - December 2009

A spotlight on the hottest topics for the restaurant, catering and hospitality sectors

December 2009

In this issue:

1. UK FSA national ‘Scores on the Doors’ progress update
2. BRC publishes new Retail Food Hygiene Guide
3. UK FSA publishes response to E.coli inquiry report
4. UK FSA publish advice on the safe use of eggs in catering
5. UK FSA publishes retail survey of Campylobacter and Salmonella in chicken
6. LACORS issues draft updated guidance on HACCP requirements of Regulation EC 852/2004
7. UK FSA Food and Allergy Alerts (November ‘09)

If you have any queries or comments about the articles below please contact Chris Pratsis on 07831 859424, email retailservices@nsf-cmi.com or contact your Account Manager if you are an existing NSF-CMi customer.


1. UK FSA NATIONAL ‘SCORES ON THE DOORS’ (SotD) UPDATE
The FSA has published an update on the progress since August ’09 on the development of the national 6-tier SotD scheme for England, Wales and NI, giving guidance on the scope of the national scheme (the types of businesses to be included, excluded or exempted).
Also included in the update is draft guidance on key 'start-up' issues for local authorities wanting to begin preparatory work to adopt the scheme.
This update is available at:

http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/enforcement/sotdupdateoct2009.pdf

2. BRC PUBLISHES NEW RETAIL FOOD HYGIENE GUIDE
A new British Retail Consortium (BRC) Guide, “The Food Industry Guide to Good Hygiene Practice: Retail Guide” has been developed to provide practical guidance on how businesses – both large and small - should meet food safety and HACCP requirements.
The Guide is officially recognised by the UK Food Standards Agency and provides advice on how to comply with Regulation (EC) 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs and the Food Hygiene Regulations 2006, as amended.
The Guide (available from www.tso.co.uk) covers the following areas of good practice:
temperature control, product handling, cleaning, personal hygiene, display of open foods, supervision, instruction and/or training, pest control, equipment and facilities, structure, documentation, monitoring and records, emergency procedures, transport, moveable/temporary premises.

3. UK FSA PUBLISHES RESPONSE TO E.COLI INQUIRY REPORT
The FSA has published its response to the report into a fatal E.coli outbreak in Wales in 2005. The outbreak was investigated by an independent inquiry led by Professor Hugh Pennington and his report sets out key recommendations for changes to how food businesses are regulated to improve protection for the public. The Agency also sets out the improvements in food hygiene already achieved in the wake of the outbreak and details the further measures they intend to take to ensure the Pennington report recommendations are fully met. The FSA response can be found at:

http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/board/fsa090707.pdf

4. UK FSA PUBLISH ADVICE ON THE SAFE USE OF EGGS IN CATERING
Important new on-line guidance covering the handling, storing and cooking eggs, using pasteurised egg, and catering for vulnerable groups, has been published by the FSA, because of the significant risk of salmonella. It also gives tips on ‘pooling’ eggs, where caterers break lots of eggs into a bowl and use the mix throughout the day.
The potential presence of salmonella inside or on egg shells means that it is very important for caterers to prevent bacteria spreading from eggs onto other foods, hands, work surfaces or utensils, and also to cook them properly so that any bacteria are killed.
There is also some advice for caterers on egg sourcing, stating that “..There is a smaller chance that eggs from vaccinated flocks will contain salmonella, but you should still take care. Remember, it’s always better to buy your eggs from a reputable supplier”.

Guidance at: http://www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/caterers/eggs/

5. UK FSA PUBLISHES RETAIL SURVEY OF CAMPYLOBACTER AND SALMONELLA IN CHICKEN
A recently published FSA microbiological survey of UK retail chicken (conducted between May ’07 and Sep ’08) has shown the presence of Campylobacter in 65% of the samples and significantly lower levels of Salmonella in 6% of samples. 0.5% of these samples contained S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium.
Campylobacter remains the most common bacterial cause of food poisoning in the UK, responsible for c.55,000 cases every year. Whilst it may be found on meat, unpasteurised milk, and untreated water, there is strong evidence that chicken is the most common cause of illness.
The FSA also emphasises that cooking chicken properly all the way through will kill these organisms and that provided that chicken is prepared, handled, and cooked properly, avoiding cross-contamination with other food, then these organisms will not have a chance to spread and cause harm.
Full report available at: http://www.food.gov.uk/science/surveillance/fsisbranch2009/fsis0409


6. LACORS ISSUES DRAFT UPDATED GUIDANCE ON HACCP REQUIREMENTS OF REGULATION EC 852/2004
This guidance for local authority enforcement officers, last issued in 1997, has been updated to 1) reflect the requirements of Article 5 of EC 852/2004 2) to ensure relevance to initiatives such as Safer Food Better Business (SFBB) and 3) to highlight the relevance to the 2009 Pennington Inquiry Report recommendations (from both the Welsh Inquiry and the previous Inquiry into the Scottish E.coli O157 outbreak in 1996).
Article 5 of the EC 852/2004 requires businesses to analyse their operations, identify potentially harmful activities before satisfying themselves that adequate controls are in place to protect consumers. The Regulation also requires that the system of controls put in place is verified, documented (as appropriate) and reviewed.
It is intended that this Draft Guidance is read alongside other LACORS Guidance on training, food law enforcement and HACCP as well as the FSA Food Law Enforcement Code of Practice.
The draft guidance can be found at: http://www.lacors.gov.uk/lacors/upload/22912.doc

 

7.UK FSA FOOD AND ALLERGY ALERTS (November ’09)

Food alerts:

20/11: Tesco Stores Lt]d withdraws 2 date codes (15 & 16/09/11) of own brand wholegrain rice due to possible contamination with insects.
17/11: The Co-Op Group recalls 3 Truly Irresistable Indian Cooking Sauces 350g glass jars (Tikka Masala, Korma, Karahi) because results from routine testing indicate that the products do not conform to the pH normally expected, which may allow growth of micro-organisms.
12/11: Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Co withdraws certain batches of 500ml PET bottles of Dr Pepper due to high levels of benzoic acid (Northern Ireland & ROI)
09/11: ASDA recalls its own-brand Wholefoods Garland Figs (250g) with a 'best before' date of 31 July 2010, because the product is infested with moth larvae caterpillars
03/11: Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd recalls one date code of Sainsbury's Belgian Wholenut Dark Chocolate due to possible contamination with pieces of hard plastic
02/11: TJX Europe recalls some batches of ‘Conforti’ brand pasta products sold by TK Maxx and Homesense due to possible infestation with insects.

Allergen alerts:

02/12: Ginni Enterprises Ltd withdraws Soft Dried Apricots due to incorrect allergen labelling information. Allergen: Sulphur Dioxide
11/11: Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc recalls its Morrisons Green Thai Style Stir Fry Sauce due to incorrect allergen labelling information. Allergen: Fish
06/11: Tesco recalls own brand Milk Chocolate Covered Raisins due to incorrect allergen labelling information. Allergen: Peanuts
05/11: Waitrose Ltd withdraws its Waitrose Deliciously Different Thai Red Chicken Curry with Wild Rice, Pak Choi and Red Peppers due to incorrect allergen labelling information. Allergen: Shellfish
04/11: Asda Stores Ltd withdraws a batch of ASDA Extra Special Chocolate Coated Nut Selection due to the undeclared presence of barley gluten in the product. Allergen: Barley gluten

 

If you have any queries or comments about these articles please contact Chris Pratsis on 07831 859424, email enquiries@nsf-cmi.com or contact your Account Manager if you are an existing NSF-CMi customer.

NSF-CMi is the leading independent environmental health, food assurance and supply chain technical services provider working throughout the catering, foodservice and hospitality & leisure sectors. It is the UK market leader for bespoke, food safety, health & safety compliance support and provides a full range of technical services for the retail, catering and leisure sectors.

NSF-CMi works extensively with governments, UK and international executive agencies and industry bodies to develop solutions which balance the interests of all stakeholders in the quest to improve the quality of consumer safety, provide client protection and enhance brand equity.


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