Documents that can help you set up a food safety management system
All food businesses are required by law to have a written Food Safety Management System.
Small catering businesses
To help you comply with the legal requirement to have a documented food safety management system, the Food Standards Agency has produced Safer Food Better Business. Scotland and Northern Ireland also have their own documented system as below.
- England - Safer Food Better Business (SFBB)
- Scotland* - Cook Safe
- Northern Ireland - Safe Catering
Any one of these documents will help you meet your legal responsibility.
You will need to choose which management system you would prefer to use, read through all sections and complete all parts to make it relevant to your business. Be aware that certain more complex operations/processes are outside the scope of these systems e.g. vacuum packing and sous vide.
*Please note that in Scotland, reheating temperatures are legally required to be a minimum of 82°C, whereas in England it is 63°C.
SFBB can be found on the Food Standards Agency website, there are packs for:
- caterers
- retailers
- Indian cuisine
- Chinese cuisine
- childminders
- residential care homes
You can download and print the full SFBB document yourself, or alternatively we can print the documents for you (including a 12 months of diary sheets), but please note there will be a fee for printed copies.
To order your brochures you'll need to:
- provide your details
- know which brochure you need
- know how many brochures you need
More complex operations/processes
High-risk foods and processes are outside of the scope of SFBB e.g. vacuum packing, sous vide, fishery Products intended to be consumed raw (e.g. smoked, sushi, gravlax, pickled), smoked products, Less Than Thoroughly Cooked (LTTC) (e.g. LTTC burgers, carpaccio, steak tartar), modified atmosphere, etc. will require additional documented food safety management systems for your business size and type of operation.
For vacuum packing in small catering operations, please consider inserting the additional safety sheet into your Safer Food Better Business folder for vacuum packing.
Why not look at the Food Standards Agency - My HACCP tool. You can sign up to this for free. You can work your way through the document, and create yourself a full documented food safety system
Butchers, medium/large food businesses, complex operations and food manufacturers
Butchers, medium/large food businesses, complex operations and food manufacturers, should adopt a more traditional, comprehensive Food Safety Management System (FSMS) based on Codex HACCP principles.
Why not look at the Food Standards Agency - My HACCP tool. You can sign up to this for free. You can work your way through the document, and create yourself a full documented food safety system