ISSUE 14 NOVEMBER 2013 BUSINESS FEATURE
Interview with The Food Safety Team The Forest of Dean District Council Gloucestershire By Sarah Jones from The Chocolate Strawberry
None of my family had been allowed a cooked meal for the last three days. The dishwasher Tilter had been cleaned with a toothbrush. I couldn’t sleep properly, because I once heard that food safety ofTicers had inspected a Take-‐Away in Nottingham and found a bucket of ‘unidentiTiable meat products’ at the back of the kitchen. What if my children had hidden a similar bucket somewhere in the house? I wouldn’t put it past them. Yes, it was time for my Jirst Food Safety Inspection and suddenly I could see nothing in my kitchen except dirt and faults. It was clear they would shut me down that afternoon. When Dennis and Beth from The Forest of Dean ofJice arrived they tried to lull me into a false sense of security by smiling. They drank from one of my mugs without looking at it for an extended period of time. They didn’t even enquire where I had purchased my tea or how old the milk was. It soon became clear that actually their role was to support local businesses and advise them, rather than close them down. We went through everything from how to Jill in my diary properly, to food storage and the packaging of products ready for sale. By the time they left, I felt that I had a place to go if I ever needed advice and could safely ring them without fear of having the contents of my fridge seized immediately. So, when Cake Masters Magazine wanted to run a piece on food safety I knew just the people to turn to. The same questions are always being asked on cake making forums and hear-‐say all too easily becomes fact.
Here are the answers to your most popular questions from The Forest of Dean District Council in Gloucestershire. They even sent us a photo. You see, they’re not scary at all.
Tell us a little about your team The Forest of Dean D.C Food and Safety Team consists of 5 OfJicers and one part time admin support, who deliver a broad range of services, including Food Safety, Private Water Supply monitoring, Infection Control and Health and Safety at Work. We deal with all types of food businesses, from small home caterers to large multi-‐national companies. Between us we have a wealth of experience in food safety enforcement, and the ofJicers can give advice and guidance on many specialist subjects.
I remember you said that you preferred to see that someone had done a practical Level 2 Award in Food Safety, rather than the on-‐line version. On-‐line can be cheaper, so what is the beneTit of a practical course? The law requires people running food businesses to be suitably supervised, instructed and/or trained. Environmental Health teams will want to ensure that staff have enough training in food safety which is relevant to their role. One of the beneJits of taught courses is that you get to meet other like-‐minded people on the course. Continued
When someone wants to start a cake making business from home, where is the Tirst place that they should look for details on set-‐up and safety requirements? Contact their local authority food safety team for free advice and a food business registration form. Most authorities can also provide a list of food hygiene trainers in their area. Some authorities offer advice visits or business start-‐up packs, so call your local authority to start the process. For advice on starting your food business and help Jinding your local authority go to: http:// www.food.gov.uk/business-‐industry/ caterers/startingup/
Can you open a business without having been rated? You should register your food business at least 28 days before opening. This allows the local authority the time to enter your business details into their system and integrate your business into the inspection programme. The business will be risk rated at the Jirst food inspection and it’s this rating that generates the National Food Hygiene Rating.
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