Food Safety Management
HACCP principles
Food businesses must have a documented food safety management system based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point). Candidates should know the seven principles: identify hazards; determine critical control points (CCPs); set critical limits; monitor CCPs; establish corrective actions; verify the system; keep records. Traps: a CCP is not just any control - it is a step where control is essential to prevent, eliminate or reduce a significant hazard. Cooking, chilling and hot holding are classic CCPs.
Monitoring and records
Monitoring must be at the right frequency and recorded, with corrective action when limits are breached (e.g. reheat to 75°C if hot holding falls below 63°C). Records prove due diligence - temperature logs, cleaning schedules, delivery checks, training records.
The four Cs
Cross-contamination, Cleaning, Chilling, Cooking - a useful frame for exam scenarios. Also learn Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB) as the practical pack used by small caterers.
Worked example
A hot buffet must hold food at 63°C or above. If a probe reads 58°C, the corrective action is to reheat to 75°C for 30 seconds (or discard if unsure how long it has been out), record the incident, and review why it happened. Simply turning up the heat without recording is an incomplete answer.
Trap to expect
Questions asking 'who is responsible for HACCP?' - the answer is the proprietor/manager, who must ensure staff are trained and the system is followed.
Food Safety, Legal Responsibilities and Reporting
The legal framework
Candidates should understand that food law requires food to be safe, fit to eat, and not injurious to health, and that businesses must ensure traceability (know where food came from and where it went - 'one step back, one step forward'). Food handlers must be supervised and trained in food hygiene commensurate with their work, and the business must have a food safety management system based on HACCP.
Key duties
Register the food business with the local authority (at least 28 days before opening). Keep premises clean, maintain temperature control, protect food from contamination, and provide adequate handwashing and toilet facilities. Display or hold a Food Hygiene Rating where required. Do not make false or misleading claims about food.
Reporting and enforcement
Notifiable diseases and suspected food poisoning must be reported to the local authority environmental health department; certain infectious diseases are also notifiable to the proper officer for public health. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) sets policy; local authorities inspect and enforce. Enforcement options include improvement notices, hygiene emergency prohibition notices, and prosecution.
Worked example
A customer reports suspected food poisoning after eating at your restaurant. You should: take details, keep samples and relevant records, report to environmental health, and cooperate with the investigation - not destroy or discard evidence or argue with the customer.
Traps to expect
Distinguish FSA (policy, advice) from local authority (inspection, enforcement). Remember that training is a legal requirement, not optional, and that a food handler who fails to report illness can breach their duty.