Tag Archives: EU allergens legislation

New qualification to help businesses better understand allergen rules

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A new qualification that will help foodservice staff better understand allergen rules and employers comply with legislation has been launched.

The Highfield Level 2 Award in Food Allergen and Control in Catering (RQF) is aimed at anyone involved in food preparation and service within the catering, hospitality and licensing sectors, and will give employees knowledge relating to the control of ingredients and allergies at all stages of food purchase and production.

The qualification, from Highfield Qualifications – the largest provider of regulated food-safety qualifications in the UK – will also provide employees with an understanding of the process for ensuring that accurate ingredient information is available for customers at point of sale and service, while giving businesses confidence that they and their staff comply with the law.

Legislation introduced in 2014 means that businesses need to provide allergy information on any food sold unpackaged, whether via a pub, restaurant, café, deli counter, bakery or sandwich shop.

However, figures released by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) at the end of 2016 show that the number of businesses receiving warnings for failure to comply with food standards in the year after the introduction of the legislation had leapt to over 23,000 from just under 15,000 – an increase of 59 percent – with many believing confusion around the new rules to be responsible and suggesting compliance has been an issue for some.

Chris Sprenger, Managing Director at Highfield Qualifications, said, ‘The figures from the FSA show that many businesses are needlessly putting themselves at risk of prosecution and reputational damage, perhaps permanently. Even without the legislation, the issue of allergens would still be important as around 8% of children and 4% of adults have a food allergy of some description.

The Highfield Level 2 Award in Food Allergen and Control in Catering, means that businesses –large or small – will be able to help their customers make informed choices and protect their welfare, while also helping them stay compliant with the law and safeguarding their reputation’.

The qualification can be completed in five hours, and costs just £8 per learner registration.

For more information on the qualification go to https://www.highfieldabc.com/qualifications/compliance/fam/L2FAC

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PRESS RELEASE: New qualification to prepare foodservice staff for allergen legislation

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Allergens A new qualification has been launched that could help foodservice staff prepare for legislation on food allergens due to be introduced later this year.

The HABC Level 3 Award in Food Allergen Management for Caterers is aimed at anyone involved in the purchase, delivery, production and serving of food within the catering, hospitality or licensing sectors.

Forthcoming legislation from the EU, due to come into force on 13 December 2014, will mean that businesses will need to provide allergy information on any food sold unpackaged, whether via a pub, restaurant, café, deli counter, bakery or sandwich shop.

The qualification from Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance (‘HABC’) – which is the largest provider of food-safety related qualifications in the UK – will give food staff knowledge relating to the control of food ingredients and allergies at all stages of food purchase and production. They will also gain an understanding of the process for ensuring that accurate ingredient information is available for customers at point of sale and service.

The qualification is supported by two slide presentations, one of which covers the suitable control of allergens in line with the new EU legislation so that learners can remain compliant, and the other which allows supervisors and managers to deliver further training to their staff after completing the qualification themselves.

Christian Sprenger, Managing Director of HABC, said, ‘Around 8% of children and 4% of adults have a food allergy of some description, and that figure is rising, so even without the new legislation it would be important that caterers make sure their staff are aware of the issue. Through this qualification, businesses – whether large or small – will be able to help their customers make informed choices and protect their welfare, whilst also preserving the reputation of the organisation’.

The qualification takes just over 10 hours to complete, meaning it can be taken in just one or two days. It is one of the many food safety training qualifications available from Highfield.

For more information on the qualification content and prices, click here , call 0845 226 0350 or email info@highfieldabc.net.

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ENDS

New book and qualification to promote food safety culture

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food-safety-culture-book A new book by one of the UK’s leading food safety experts has been launched to help businesses develop a positive food safety culture.

Developing and Maintaining a Positive Food Safety Culture by Professor Chris Griffith, editor of the British Food Journal and one the world’s leading consultants on food safety, covers key topics such as understanding the concept of food safety culture, its components, promoting a food safety culture within an organisation and related food safety management areas such as leadership, communication and training.

The book compliments the teaching of a new qualification covering the subject – the HABC Level 3 Award in Developing a Positive Food Safety Culture – by respected food safety expert Jude Hutchinson.

Both the book and the qualification – which can be completed in just one day – are aimed specifically at supervisors and owners/managers of food businesses and will allow them to improve the awareness of employees throughout their organisations.

The qualification has been developed by Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance (‘HABC’) , which is the UK’s largest provider of compliance qualifications, whilst Developing and Maintaining a Positive Food Safety Culture is published by Highfied.co.uk .

Professor Chris Griffith Professor Griffith, who will be speaking on the subject at the HABC National Conference in Manchester in November, said, ‘For too long, food safety has just been treated as a microbiological problem, but there is now a growing recognition that there is also a major human behavioural component. When known food safety practices are not followed it is all too easy to blame the individual food handler, yet the real underlying causes are often management failures. I know many managers who claim to be supportive of food safety and it is their number one priority, but when I dig deep into the organisation’s culture I discover this is usually NOT the case. Producing a positive food safety culture is easy to say but much more difficult for most businesses to prove’.

Chris Sprenger, Highfield Managing Director, said, ‘With the issue of food safety culture recently dominating the news – particularly regards campylobacter in raw chicken – there is increasing public, media and government scrutiny of the entire food sector. The new book and the qualification will help demonstrate the importance of developing and maintain a positive food safety culture and promote the fact that every staff member is important in achieving this’.

Developing and Maintaining a Positive Food Safety Culture costs just £13.50, with discounts available for larger orders. The qualification costs £14 to £18 per learner depending on the number registered.

A training presentation, which can be delivered via PowerPoint, is also under development.

For more information on both, click here , email sales@highfieldabc.net or call 0845 2260350.