In addition to our general consultancy and training services, Handley-Walker Services Ltd (HWS) offers a new service to the food and drink industries to assist them to meet new food safety requirements.

The Challenge to the Food Sector – Deadline January 2006?

The major changes in food markets and distribution, and unfortunate food scares of the last two decades, have resulted in new food safety legislation, industry initiatives and voluntary standards. Recently we have been reminded of the costs of failure by the Sudan 1 crisis in the UK. The potential cost of recall of some 450 plus products may be in excess of £100 million.

New Legislation – EU regulations

In April 2004 the European Parliament adopted regulation (EU) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs. This will apply to ALL U.K. food businesses from 1st of January 2006. The main change to the law relates to food safety management systems i.e. risk based methodologies to ensure the safety of food.

ALL businesses other than primary producers will be required to implement food safety management systems based on the Codex Alimentarius principles. The regulation does give flexibility depending on the size and nature of the business though the definitions of these descriptors are not clear. There are also new requirements regarding the training of food handlers particularly for those with specific responsibilities for food safety and the food safety management system.

The Food Standards Agency are currently piloting three food safety management systems to determine their suitability for businesses throughout the U.K. Food businesses will be able to adopt any system that is approved by the competent authority as meeting the requirements of the regulation. It is here that we have unanswered questions on:

What will be a suitable food safety management system?

How will the competent authority (local authority environmental health officers) audit, inspect or appraise a system?

BRC Global Standard for Food – an industry initiative

The British Retail Consortium has released their global standard for food (January 2005) alongside standards for packaging and consumer products. The standard has the endorsement of the majority of the major UK retailers.

This standard is now in its 4th issue and provides a valuable benchmark for any organisation producing food products for a retail outlet. Essentially the standard is a mix of requirement for management systems, good practice and food safety prerequisite programmes. The standard is a well-tested indicator of an organisation that is capable of a due diligence defence under food safety law in the UK.

ISO 22000 – a global standard

In parallel to these developments an international standard ISO 22000, a specification for a food safety standard, has been in development. The issue of the standard is due in the last quarter of 2005. This standard applies the rigour of application of previous ISO management system standards to the subject of food safety. The standard will require organisations to implement a comprehensive system incorporating HACCP, all relevant codes of practice and prerequisite programmes.

Handley-Walker Services are able to offer clients a broad range of services in food safety, either to meet the requirements of legislation or achieve certificated status against any of the commercial or international standards.

We have a track record of implementing systems and auditing systems for food safety and associated systems for leading global organisations.

In order to survive and prosper UK food, drink and industry and suppliers need to comply with the new regulations, consider customer expectations and keep pace with competition in the international marketplace. If you would like to discuss how our services might assist you to comply, please contact us at:

Handley-Walker Services Ltd,
40 Fort Parkway,
Erdington,
Birmingham B24 9HL
Tel 0870-240-2093

Our website is www.handleywalker.co.uk
Our email is enquiries@handleywalker.co.uk
April 2005

Seminar / Workshop

Meeting the Food Safety Challenge for 2006.

Handley-Walker is pleased to offer a short seminar to clients to assist the understanding of the imminent food safety challenges.

You will have a team of specialists on hand to explain all the changes that are taking place in the field of food safety and enforcement and answer questions specific to your organisation.

The two-hour program:

Outline of the changes: Regulation and enforcement
Commercial standards
International standards
Strengths and weaknesses of the different food safety initiatives

Your organisations needs: What will you have to do?
What might your customers require?
What might you require of your suppliers?
What might develop new markets and customers?

How to get started: What information will you need?
Who will you need to contact?
What you will need to discuss with customers and suppliers?

Sources of information: Organisations and authorities
Web sites
Handley-Walker Services

Question time: Open questions to the Handley-Walker personnel and discussion with other delegates

Each delegate will receive a seminar package with presentation notes and current information sources.

Delegate fee: £99 plus VAT.

Please contact our office to enquire about dates and venues.
Handley-Walker Services Ltd, Tel: 0870-240-2093
Email: enquiries@handleywalker.co.uk