The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently proposed a simplified approach to food safety management in small retail businesses.
In the article below, Declan Bolton, member of the Knowledge Network Expert Group and the EFSA panel on Biological Hazards, further explains the changes proposed.
Food businesses are legally obliged to develop and implement food safety management systems (FSMS), including prerequisite programme (PRP) activities and hazard analysis and critical control point principles (HACCP). In small food businesses, where resources and expertise are limited, this can be particularly challenging. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently developed an ‘Opinion’ titled ‘Hazard analysis approaches for certain small retail establishments in view of the application of their food safety management systems’ in which a simplified approach to food safety management is developed based on a fundamental understanding of processing stages (flow diagram) and the activities contributing to increased occurrence of the hazards (biological, chemical (including allergens), or physical) that may occur. The need to understand and apply hazard or risk ranking within the hazard analysis is removed and control is achieved using PRP activities as recently described in the European Commission Notice 2016/C278, but with the addition of a PRP activity covering ‘product information and customer awareness’. Critical limits, monitoring and record keeping are also included but only where there is an absolute requirement. Examples of the simplified approach are presented for five types of retail establishments: butcher, grocery, bakery, fish and ice cream shop.
View Opinion here: Hazard analysis approaches for certain small retail establishments in view of the application of their food safety management systems
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