Logan Marshall Green Business

Posts Tagged ‘Food Business’

The main objective of the new general hygiene rules is to ensure a high level of consumer protection in relation to food security.
Each food business along the supply chain and marketing, must ensure they do not compromise food safety.
Food security is the result of several factors:

* The law should establish minimum standards of hygiene.
* The Administration should implement official controls to verify the compliance by food businesses.
* Food companies should establish and implement programs and food safety procedures based on the principles of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points).

The HACCP requirements should be sufficiently flexible to be applicable in all situations, including in small businesses.

GENERAL PROVISIONS
This Regulation lays down general hygiene for food businesses, taking into particular account the following principles:

* The food business is primarily responsible for food safety;
* The need to ensure food safety along the food chain, starting in primary production;
* The general implementation of procedures based on the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) which, together with the application of good hygiene practice, should reinforce the responsibility of the food business;
* The need to establish microbiological criteria and requirements for temperature based on a scientific risk assessment;
* The need to ensure that imported foods are of at least the same hygiene standard of food produced in the Community or have an equivalent level.

The so-called “hygiene package” includes five regulations that harmonize and simplify seventeen directives, forming a single food hygiene policy and transparent, which is applicable to all food from January 1, 2006.

The products covered by the hygiene package covers all food, but also it has specific rules for food of animal origin (meat, fish, dairy, eggs, frogs, snails, animal fats, gelatin and collagen).

As an exception, the EU rules do not apply to:

* The primary production of food for private use.
* Small quantities of primary production targeted directly to the final consumer or retail establishments, where they apply national standards.

The primary responsibility for compliance rests with the health food business operator, with responsibility for the verification authority. In order to exercise official controls, all food establishments must be registered, and some must also be subject to prior authorization (egg slaughterhouses).

Food companies should sell only safe food, for which self-control to implement systems that are based on the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). These principles are:

* The analysis and identification of hazards.
* Identification of critical control points.
* The establishment of critical limits for control points.
* The monitoring of control points.
* The corrective actions when monitoring detects a problem.
* Verification that the measures taken are adequate.
* The record of actions and archiving of documentation.