Well-trained staff support good practice

All food businesses have a duty of care to provide the best service to their customers, including ensuring that food is nutritious, healthy, and offers value for money, but above all is safe to eat. They are legally required to implement a food safety management system based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) principles supported by appropriate training, with the healthcare sector no exception. Fiona Sinclair, from food safety consultancy, STS, outlines some of the key considerations.

When was your HACCP or food safety training last updated? Could you fall foul of your Environmental Health Officer (EHO)? Now may be the time to take stock and act. In many cases, indeed, HACCP-based food safety systems may have been written some time ago, and may have not been reviewed since. Part of the legal requirement for every food business – and this includes hospitals and other healthcare facilities catering for patients – is to regularly review their food safety systems to ensure that documents and procedures are up to date in conjunction with current practices, procedures, and staff training. 

Spring is a good time for food businesses to review processes, procedures, and food safety systems, as well as to consider existing and upcoming staff training needs. The previous 12 months may have seen a healthcare facility’s food-related operations change day-to-day practices, including menus, and even suppliers. It may be that new equipment has been installed over recent months, as well as new staff recruited, or existing staff promoted to supervisory roles. Reviewing processes now could help prevent your operation from falling foul of your local EHO.