Ban on Single Use Plastics – 1^st October 2023-  Are You Ready?

Changes to the Law

The Environmental Protection (Plastic Plates etc. and Polystyrene Containers etc.) (England) Regulations 2023 (legislation.gov.uk)

Prepare for the ban – use up your existing stock before 1^st October 2023.

Find re-useable alternatives to single-use items

Use different materials for single-use items.

See Guidance – Single-use plastics ban: plates, bowls, trays, containers, cutlery and balloon sticks – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Contact Citizens Advice Consumer Services Tel: 0808 223 1133 (Option 2) with enquiries.

The following videos have been produced by the Food Standards Agency aimed at helping businesses implement good practices for food storage and preparation. They are useful as part of staff induction or refresher courses for anyone working with food.

Guidance and materials to assist food businesses in promoting, implementing and complying with the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation, launched on 13th December 2014.

What the new rules will mean for you if you are a consumer:

You can now ask for information about 14 allergens, if used as an ingredient in the food you are buying, when you eat out.

You will see allergenic ingredients emphasised (for example, using bold, italics or colours) on pre-packed foods. This means all allergen information will be found on the ingredients list only.

What the new rules will mean for you if you are a consumer if you are a food business manufacturing pre-packed food:

You will have to emphasise allergenic ingredients (for example, by using bold, italics or colours) on the ingredients list. This means all allergen information will be provided on the ingredients list only.

Food allergy and intolerance are growing health concerns in the UK. They are life changing and in serious cases can be fatal, or lead to long-term health conditions.

From 13th December 2014, a new piece of European legislation, called the Food Information for Consumers Regulation (EU FIC) means allergen information must be provided in a clearer and more consistent way on pre-packed and loose food, making it easier for you to make safer choices when buying food or eating out.

What the new rules will mean for you if you are a food business selling loose food or in food service (for example school canteens, cafes, restaurants, takeaways, caterers):

You must provide information about 14 allergens, if used as an ingredient in the food you are providing or selling. You can do this on a menu, chalkboard, website or orally, but must signpost your customers to this information.

For more Allergen information for loose foods see these technical guides produced by the Food Standards Agency:

Further Guidance

The best place for advice and information for your business is the Food Standards Agency website.

How can a business improve its rating?

All business should be able to achieve the top rating.

To get the best possible rating, you should look at your last food hygiene inspection report to check that you’ve taken all of the actions needed to ensure that you meet legal requirements

At your next inspection, if you don’t get the top rating and you have queries about the improvements you need to make to get a better rating, then the food safety officer will be able to give you advice.

How is this assessed?

Your food hygiene rating is based on the level of compliance in three areas:

• How hygienically the food is handled – safe food preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage.
• The condition of the structure of the premises – cleanliness, repair, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities.
• How food safety is managed and documented – using a system such as Safer food, better business or Safe Catering or similar.

How can a business demonstrate that food is handled hygienically?

You can do this by showing, for example, that:

• There are high standards of personal hygiene of staff – e.g. clean over clothing (such as aprons), appropriate headwear, minimal jewellery and regular and appropriate hand-washing}
• Control measures in place to prevent cross contamination – e.g. use of separate areas for handling raw and cooked foods, proper use of colour coded chopping boards, and correct use of appropriate cleaning chemicals.
• Foods are stored at the correct temperature – e.g. food stored in fridges is maintained at less than 8°C (ideally between 0-5°C) and that the chill chain is protected.
• Foods are properly cooked, re-heated and cooled – e.g. foods are cooked to 75°C or hotter and are checked visually for signs of thorough cooking, and foods are cooled quickly and as necessary refrigerated.

Support for Businesses

The Food Standards Agency have produced an online tool aimed at businesses looking to develop a process to improve Food Hygiene.  MyHACCP will help you to develop a custom plan of action to identify any areas of improvement and ensure that your organisation is compliant with all relevant legislation.

Contacts training providers including colleges and on-online training providers.   

Reasheath College (Dairy/Cheese courses) 

Nantwich 
Cheshire 
CW5 6DF 

Telephone 01270 613193 

www.reaseheath.ac.uk 

 

Food Safety at Work
Tel 0800 2948663

Essential Food Hygiene
www.essentialfoodhygiene.co.uk

High Speed Training
Email support@highspeedtraining.co.uk
Tel 03330067000

Online

Virtual College 

http://www.virtual-college.co.uk
Email info@ukvirtual-college.co.uk
Tel 01943 60576 

Creative Learning Solutions 

http://www.clsolutions.co.uk
Email enquiries@clsolutions.co.uk
Tel 0845 4562160 

CoursesOnline
60 Cheapside,
London,
EC2V 6AX

Website – Food Safety Level 2 training course

Contact form

This form should be completed by food business operators in respect of new food business establishments and received by the relevant Food Authority 28 days before commencing food operations. On the basis of the activities carried out, certain food business establishments are required to be approved rather than registered.

If you are unsure whether any aspect of your food operations would require your establishment to be approved, please contact the Food Safety Section via email at Commercial@fylde.gov.uk

Introduction

Fylde Council has rolled out The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. The aim of the scheme is to make it easier for residents and visitors in the Borough to choose places with good hygiene standards when they’re eating out or shopping for food. The food hygiene rating tells you about the hygiene standards in restaurants, pubs, cafés, takeaways, hotels, supermarkets and other places they go to for food.

The scheme is run by local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in partnership with the Food Standards Agency.

Business Rating

Your business will be given a hygiene rating following a planned inspection by a food safety officer from your local authority. Your hygiene rating depends on the standards of hygiene found at the time of the inspection. Your business can be given one of six ratings. These are on a scale from ‘0’ at the bottom, which means that urgent improvement is necessary, to ‘5’ at the top, which means that the business was found to have ‘very good’ hygiene standards.

The rating you are given will depend on:

• how hygienically the food is handled – how it is prepared, cooked, cooled, stored, and what measures are taken to prevent food being contaminated with bacteria
• the condition of the structure of your premises, including cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, equipment and other facilities
• how you manage and record what you do to make sure food is safe

The food safety officer will explain to you if there are any improvements needed, what they are and how you can achieve a higher rating.

It is possible for any business to achieve the top rating, whether they are catering for a few or thousands of clients.

The food hygiene rating is not a guide to food quality.

Appeals

You can appeal if you think your hygiene rating is wrong or unfair – in other words it does not fairly reflect the hygiene standards found at the time of your inspection. You must lodge an appeal within 21 days of being told what your hygiene rating is. The appeals form can be filled in online here.

Right to Reply

You have a ‘right to reply’ if you’ve improved hygiene standards since your inspection, or if there were unusual circumstances at the time of the inspection and you want to explain this to your customers.

Re-score – Have you paid your fee?

You can ask for another visit to get a new rating if you make the improvements to hygiene standards that the local authority food safety officer told you about at your last planned inspection. You’ll need to do this in writing, supply evidence of the improvements made and pay the appropriate fee of £198. The food safety officer will re-assess hygiene standards and give you a new rating – this could go up but it could stay the same or it could go down. You are advised to contact your last inspecting officer who will assist.

You can find out more about these safeguards at www.food.gov.uk/ratings

The type of complaints we would deal with are those where the food was purchased within the Borough of Fylde and is contaminated such as to make it unsuitable or unfit for human consumption e.g. the presence of glass, metal or other foreign material, foods showing evidence of mould growth or contaminated with food poisoning bacteria.

If you have a problem with food bought outside the Borough of Fylde we will be happy to transfer this for you to the appropriate Authority.

Complaints related to food quality or food labelling/advertising will generally be dealt with by the Trading Standards Department of Lancashire County Council. Their telephone number is 01772 533569.

The purpose of our investigation is to ascertain the cause of the complaint and to ensure that the necessary measures are taken to prevent a recurrence of the problem. This can include a number of measures up to and including prosecution of the vendor or manufacturer.

Fylde Council plays no part in compensation claims as a result of food complaints. This is purely a civil matter and, should you wish to seek compensation, this should be done through a solicitor.

The Food Team can be contacted by e-mail on commercial@fylde.gov.uk

Please retain any packaging and sales tickets, as these may be important to the investigation. Please store the food in the same manner as at the point of sale.

Food Premises Complaints

We also investigate complaints concerning the condition of food premises. This can cover a number of areas including

• Cleanliness of the premises
• Evidence of pest infestation
• Drainage from food premises
• Accumulation of refuse
• Provision/cleanliness of sanitary accommodation
• Personal hygiene of staff
• Poor food handling practices

Establishing a food business is not just a question of ensuring that there is a market for the products you intend to sell. There are a number of areas of legislation that you must consider in order for the business to comply with the law and some of these are as follows: –

Registration of the business as a food business

Regulation (EC) 852/2004 Article 6 (2) and The Food Hygiene (England) Regulation’s state that Food businesses must register with the appropriate competent authority (Local Authority), at least 28 days before opening. If you are not sure whether you should be registered or not, please complete this form.

Approval of premises

Some categories of food business require either approval or licence from the Local Authority in order to trade. Approvals are required by businesses such as producers of meat products, meat preparation’s, milk and dairy products and fish products. Licences are required by business that propose to street trade. It is an offence to trade without the proper approval or licence. Advice concerning licensing or approval can be obtained by contacting the Food Team on commercial@fylde.gov.uk

Planning permission/Building control

If you are starting a new food business or making alterations to an existing business you may need permission from the Local Authority Planning Department. It is always a good idea, even if the business is already functioning as a food business, to check that the appropriate permissions are in place prior to purchase/lease of a premises for trading as a food business. Fylde Borough Council Planning Department can be contacted on 01253 658658 or please visit the planning pages.

Food legislation

The main legislation controlling the activity of food businesses are Regulation’s (EC) 178/2002, (EC) 852/2004, (EC) 853/2004, (EC) 854/2004 and The Food Hygiene (England) Regulation’s. These regulation’s came into force on 1^st January 2006, as part of this all businesses must put in place, implement and maintain written procedures based on food safety Hazard Analysis Critical Control Procedure (HACCP) principals. To find out more information on this, the Food Standards Agency has introduced a Safer Food Better Business pack, which sets out a template for small catering businesses on the HACCP principles.

Regulation’s (EC) 853/2004 are for product specific premises which require approval. These replace all the previous vertical legislation e.g The Meat Products (Hygiene) Regulation’s 1994, along with revoking the Butcher Shop Licensing Legislation. If you are a producer of products of animal origin (meat, fish and dairy products) and supply to other than solely to the final consumer then these regulation’s will probably apply to you and you should therefore seek approval from the Authority prior to trading.

Trade Organisation’s

Some trade organisation’s produce Industry Guides to Good Hygiene Practice that we as enforcement office’s must recognise in carrying out our inspections. One example of this is the Catering Guide but there are many others for specific sectors. The Food Team can advise you on whether a guide exists for your business and how a copy can be obtained. For further information please email commercial@fylde.gov.uk

Provision of Sanitary Accommodation

Suitable sanitary accommodation must be available in all food businesses which is adequately separated from the food handling operation. Fylde Council’s Policy can be found here  Where you are operating a large food business it may be necessary to provide more toilets. Guidelines to the number of toilets required can be found in British Standard 6465 1984.

Provision of Late Night Refreshment

If your business intends to sell hot food or drink, after 11.00pm, then you will require a Licence under the Licensing Act 2003.

Health & Safety at Work Act 1974

You will have a duty as an employer to assess the risk presented by your business activities to staff, customers and anyone else who is affected by your business. If you employ 5 or more people then you must have a written Health and Safety policy and risk assessment. Advice is available from the Health and Safety Section by e-mail at commercial@fylde.gov.uk

Environmental Protection Act 1990

You must ensure that your business does not cause a Statutory Nuisance to others. A Statutory Nuisance can occur through a number of factors e.g. smoke, fumes, noise, dust etc.. More information can be obtained from the Pollution Team by e-mail at environmentalprotection@fylde.gov.uk

Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Duty of Care)

You must make adequate arrangements for the safe storage and disposal of your waste so as to prevent a nuisance. Disposal of your waste should be carried out by a registered waste contractor or by yourself at an approved site. Business waste should not be disposed of with domestic refuse.

Details of Fylde Borough Council’s Trade Waste Collection Service can be obtained by email at tradewaste@fylde.gov.uk

Liquor Licence

If it is your intention to sell or supply alcoholic beverages or provide public entertainment/facilities such as music and dancing, then it is likely that you will require a licence from this Authority. Further details can be obtained from the licensing pages on this website or by contacting the Licensing Section by email at licensing@fylde.gov.uk

Street Trader

Under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 it is necessary for anyone who wishes to street trade within the Borough of Fylde to possess a valid Street Trading Licence. Street traders selling food will be subject to inspection and will be awarded a food hygiene rating

Useful information

The Health and Safety Executive website can be found here.

Download our handy New Business Starter Sheet by clicking here.

Food Hygiene Ratings

Fylde’s Food Safety Officer’s aim to ensure that all food and drink intended for human consumption by Fylde’s 800 food businesses is produced, stored, distributed or handled without risk to the health and safety of the consumer. We will also publish details of these inspections on the Food Standard Agency’s national food hygiene rating scheme.

View the Fylde hygiene ratings

Food safety is a major part of the environmental health officer’s work. Our job is to ensure that food business supply wholesome and safe food produced in a clean, hygienic manner.

To this end the Food Safety Team are involved in a number of areas of work including:

Food hygiene inspections

The Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 require that all food on sale is safe to eat and is applicable to all food businesses from manufacturers and distributors to caterers and retail shops. The council is responsible for enforcement in approximately 800 premises and in addition to proactive inspection, we also undertake some other functions in relation to food businesses:

Investigation of Food Complaints

• Registration of food premises
• Food safety complaint investigations
• Routine food sampling programme

Purpose of food hygiene inspections

The primary responsibility for controlling food safety rests with the proprietor of the food business, however, environmental health officers inspect all types of food businesses to:

• Make sure food is being handled and produced hygienically
• Make sure food is safe to eat
• Identify any foreseeable risks of food poisoning or injury which might arise if the food is eaten

The objectives of the inspection therefore include:

• Determination of the business activities and the law that applies to the business
• Gathering and recording information from observations and discussions with the people involved
• Identifying the potential hazards and risk to the health of the public
• Checking the effectiveness of the controls to make the food safe
• Assessment of the management systems operated by the business
• Identifying the contraventions of food safety law
• Consideration of the appropriate enforcement action to make sure food businesses comply with the law

Planning inspections

The local authority are required to keep a record of all food businesses and put together a programme to make sure that all food businesses are inspected on a regular basis.

Approval of meat, dairy and fish products plants

The authority is also required to enforce specific hygiene rules for products of animal origin such as meat, milk or fish product premises under the European Regulations 853/2004 and 854/2004. The authority has ten of these premises which require in-depth inspections and detailed record keeping and if you wish to find out more details about these requirements.

Food incidents

National food hazard warnings are reported by the Food Standards Agency to be actioned appropriately, in accordance with the authority’s documented food hazard warnings procedure. Details of any warnings related to your products can be found by following this link.

Investigation of food poisoning and related food borne diseases

The section investigates all cases of notifiable food-related including food poisoning outbreaks and infectious disease reported via the appropriate channels, in conjunction with the Health Protection Agency.

Enquiries

If you have any enquiries or complaints related to the safety of food sold or produced within the Borough of Fylde you can contact the Food Team by e-mail at commercial@fylde.gov.uk or at:

Resources Directorate
Fylde Council
Town Hall
St Annes Road West
Lytham St Anne’s
FY8 1LH