Pembrokeshire backs food campaign
Pembrokeshire County Council is backing a UK-wide initiative to help businesses comply with food hygiene law.
The campaign - which runs until 1st March - is being run by The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and takes the form of radio advertising, posters, adverts in trade publications and promotion of a wide range of information available on the FSA website.
The advice includes a range of standard food safety management system packs called 'Safer Food Better Business' while there are also packs specifically tailored for small catering and retail businesses, childminders and restaurants and takeaways that serve different cuisines such as Chinese and Indian.
In Pembrokeshire the Council's Public Protection Division Food Safety and Standards team undertakes around 1,000 food hygiene inspections each year to ensure that food businesses are complying with the law. While the majority are broadly compliant, some invariably fall short of requirements.
Where this results in risks to the public, businesses find themselves subject to formal enforcement whether through the service of statutory notices requiring improvements, prosecution and occasionally immediate closure.
In many cases these costly errors might have been avoided if businesses had put in place effective food safety management systems.
The Public Protection Division is committed to working with local food businesses, providing advice, the tools and support to ensure that high levels of compliance are achieved and maintained.
It is also gearing up to support the FSA's so-called 'Scores on the Doors' food hygiene scheme due to be launched nationally later this year.
The Council's Cabinet Member for Environmental and Regulatory Services, Councillor Ken Rowlands, explained: "This will benefit both local residents and visitors to the County, by promoting food safety and providing information that will enable them to make informed choices about where to eat."
"The new scheme will also give recognition to businesses which employ a good standard of food safety management while naming and shaming poor performers."
* Businesses can order the FSA packs free of charge
E-mail: foodstandards@ecgroup.co.uk or
Telephone: 0845 606 0667.
The campaign - which runs until 1st March - is being run by The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and takes the form of radio advertising, posters, adverts in trade publications and promotion of a wide range of information available on the FSA website.
The advice includes a range of standard food safety management system packs called 'Safer Food Better Business' while there are also packs specifically tailored for small catering and retail businesses, childminders and restaurants and takeaways that serve different cuisines such as Chinese and Indian.
In Pembrokeshire the Council's Public Protection Division Food Safety and Standards team undertakes around 1,000 food hygiene inspections each year to ensure that food businesses are complying with the law. While the majority are broadly compliant, some invariably fall short of requirements.
Where this results in risks to the public, businesses find themselves subject to formal enforcement whether through the service of statutory notices requiring improvements, prosecution and occasionally immediate closure.
In many cases these costly errors might have been avoided if businesses had put in place effective food safety management systems.
The Public Protection Division is committed to working with local food businesses, providing advice, the tools and support to ensure that high levels of compliance are achieved and maintained.
It is also gearing up to support the FSA's so-called 'Scores on the Doors' food hygiene scheme due to be launched nationally later this year.
The Council's Cabinet Member for Environmental and Regulatory Services, Councillor Ken Rowlands, explained: "This will benefit both local residents and visitors to the County, by promoting food safety and providing information that will enable them to make informed choices about where to eat."
"The new scheme will also give recognition to businesses which employ a good standard of food safety management while naming and shaming poor performers."
* Businesses can order the FSA packs free of charge
E-mail: foodstandards@ecgroup.co.uk or
Telephone: 0845 606 0667.
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