South Ayrshire Council General Enquiries |
Cook Safe and HACCP |
 |
In order to help food businesses better prepare for changes to food safety legislation on 1 January 2006, the Foods Standards Agency has produced guidance materials appropriate for different types of food business. The Food Standards Agency Scotland asked the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Working Group of the Scottish Food Enforcement Liaison Committee (SFELC) to develop a guidance manual for caterers. Cook Safe is the name given to the manual that was developed. The process of development has drawn upon expertise from the food industry (including small businesses), Local Authorities and the Scottish Food Advisory Committee. Why do it?Everyone involved in the food industry is aware of the importance of good food hygiene practices and of the need to handle and prepare food in a safe, clean environment. High-profile food-related incidents such as those involving Salmonella and E.coli O157 have only served to increase general awareness of food safety issues. From 1st January 2006, changes to the food safety legislation will require that all food businesses, including caterers, apply food safety management procedures based on the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) to their business. What's in it for me?Cook Safe has been developed to help you with the management of food safety in your business. Cook Safe:
By working through the system, you will be able to develop a HACCP based system which will fit your business needs. Existing SystemsCook Safe provides the framework for a full system but can also be used to build upon your existing system and good practice within your business. You may wish to use Cook Safe as a source of ideas and materials for enhancing your existing systems. It is designed to be suitable for use in the majority of catering businesses – but you will need to adapt the rules and records to suit the way that your business operates. Guidance is given on how to do this. This programme has been based on the best information available at the time. Revisions and updates will be issued periodically. Where to StartYou can work through the whole programme in sequence or else dip into the parts that are relevant to you and your business. This programme will :
Who is managing the Cooksafe Project in South Ayrshire? The Environmental Health Division, South Ayrshire Council, Burns House, Burns Statute Square, Ayr KA7 1TU Contact details: tel.no. 01292 6118222 fax 01292 288755 e-mail: environmentalhealth@south-ayrshire.gov.uk What businesses are involved? Initially 321 catering businesses were targeted by letter and by telephone to attend information meetings on the scope of the cooksafe project. What is being provided for businesses involved? Each business is invited to send one representative to a one-day training course on the Cooksafe food management system taken by Hilary Iannotti from Paragon, who is our External Training Consultant. Thereafter our consultant arranges an on-site mentoring visit when guidance is given to enable the completion of the system. Following this if further assistance is required it is provided by Environmental health staff. A hard copy of the Cooksafe food management system and an electronic copy of the various templates are given to each business. What is expected of businesses involved? Each business is expected to commit the time required for the completion of the Cooksafe system, which will be assessed by Environmental Health staff. What do businesses do if they want to be involved? Contact Environmental Health as detailed above. |
