FSA NEWS SAFER FOOD BETTER BUSINESS MAY 2006

Enforcement officers are vital to the success of Safer food, better business (SFBB), so from the start of the project it has been a key priority to make sure that they are familiar with the contents of the pack and techniques for coaching SFBB into businesses.

Highfield.co.uk Ltd successfully tendered to provide regional SFBB courses for local authorities, with a pilot taking place in Doncaster in August 2005, and a further 11 courses held by December 2005.

Since the courses began, the demand to attend them has far exceeded the number of places.  So far, a further 21 courses have been arranged to take place between January and June 2006.  By the end of June, an estimated 640 enforcement officers will have been trained on 33 courses.

Enforcement officers who have attended the coaching courses have given positive feedback on the training, as well as the usefulness of the pack.

Further information

Find out more about course dates and venues at the following link.  Please note that these courses are for local authorities only.  http://www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/hygiene/implementstrategy/enforcertoolkit/sfbbtoolkittraining/

Future developments

Chinese cuisine and Indian cuisine supplements will be launched at the start of 2007.

We are also investigating how Safer food, better business could be adapted for vulnerable groups, such as elderly people.

Quotes from catering businesses on SFBB

‘This is great – it’s definitely a document for all establishments – you just tailor it for yourself’.

‘It’s very clear at telling you what you need to do’.

‘The pictures are great, I can give it to someone and say “it should look like this”.’

‘It’s really good that they give you reasons telling you why you should do something – it helps you understand the rules.’