To make life easier for small retailers who do not always have the resources easily to comply with the requirements of EU food legislation, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommended on Friday 3 March that, initially, butchers, grocery shops, fishmongers, bakeries and ice cream shops apply simplified food safety management rules.
This simplified approach, developed by EFSA, was the subject of a scientific opinion on biological dangers, published on Friday 3 March.
It proposes that the current approach which usually requires the ranking and prioritising of hazards before decisions on control measures can be taken should be removed. Retailers will not be required to have detailed knowledge of specific hazards. They need only to be aware that biological, chemical and physical hazards or allergens may be present and that a failure to undertake key control activities – such as correct chilled storage or separation of raw from cooked products – could increase exposure of consumers to a hazard.
“Some aspects of current food hygiene regulations can be challenging for small businesses, particularly where resources are tight or expertise is lacking. This simpler approach, which the European Commission asked us to develop, would make it easier for such operators to identify hazards and take action to counter them”, said Marta Hugas, head of EFSA’s Biological Hazards and Contaminants unit in a press release.
EFSA suggests that the simplified approach should, at a later date, be considered for wider application within the food industry.
In its opinion, EFSA proposes simple food safety management systems (FSMS) for the above five types of small food businesses and guidelines on how to identify the most relevant biological, chemical and physical hazards at each stage of the food production process, the activities or practices that make hazards more likely to occur and appropriate control measures.
The new approach uses flow diagrams to summarise the stages of production, an accompanying questionnaire, and simple tables to take retailers through the food safety management process from hazard identification to control measures.
A combination of managerial, organisational and technical hurdles means that many small food retailers have difficulty complying with the requirements of existing food safety management systems. In particular, applying often complex hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plans can be beyond the capacity of establishments that may employ only a handful of staff. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)