Food safety management systems
A food safety management system (FSMS) is not only a legal requirement, but a helpful tool to ensure safe practices are followed within your business.
A FSMS is a systematic approach to controlling food safety hazards within a food business in order to ensure that food is safe to eat. All businesses are required to put in place, implement and maintain a FSMS based on the principles of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP).
What is Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point?
HACCP is an international method of ensuring that food is always safe to eat. It includes identifying food hazards and working out what needs to be done to eliminate them, or to sufficiently control them.
Our food safety officers can only provide basic advice and guidance, during visits to your business, to get you started. The information provided on these pages will assist you in formulating the right food safety management system for your business. If you are unable to write and implement a food safety management system yourself, you may have to use a food safety consultant (our food safety officers are not able to act as a consultant to your food business for this service).
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Procedures
How to manage the food hygiene and safety procedures in your food business.
The links below will help you to find the right food safety management system for your food business.
Safer food better business (SFBB)
Safer Food Better Business (SFBB) is a food safety management procedure developed for small caterers and retailers to help them manage food safety in their business. SFBB is designed to help small businesses comply with food safety regulations.
Safer food, better business has been adapted for small catering businesses such as restaurants and takeaways that serve either Chinese cuisine or Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan cuisines. A translated SFBB manual is available in Chinese.
Please also see the link below for the ‘Cook Safe Manual for caterers’ where translated manuals are available in the following languages: Chinese, Punjabi, Bengali and Urdu.
Safer food, better business for caterers and retailers
You can download a Safer Food Better Business manual for your business using the following links.
- Caterers
- Retailers
- Indian cuisine
- Chinese cuisine in English
- Safer food better business diary refill
- Chinese cuisine Cantonese language version
- Safer food better business diary refill - Cantonese language version
- Residential care homes - Additional page supplements for the SFBB Caterers manual to help caterers and staff working in small residential care homes prepare and cook safer food for their residents.
- Childminders This manual is only for childminders caring for small numbers of children (five or less) in their own home.
Other food safety management systems
Cook Safe Manual for caterers
Cook Safe helps catering businesses to understand and implement HACCP-based systems. By reading this manual and following the instructions, you will be able to develop HACCP-based procedures that fit your needs. Cook Safe is available in the following languages, Chinese, Punjabi, Bengali and Urdu.
MyHACCP for small food manufacturers
My HACCP is a system created by the Food Standards Agency to build your own food safety management system. It is aimed at small manufacturers and complex food processes where Safer Food Better Business would not be sufficient.
Butchers - Documented Food Safety Management System
Butchers who prepare and sell both raw and ready to eat foods are required to put in place a documented food safety management system based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) controls. The information provided below is intended to help butchers meet the requirements of the food safety regulations.
E. coli O157 cross contamination guidance
How to reduce the risk of E. coli O157 cross contamination in your business.
Butcher Safe Manual
Safe Food Handling for Butchers
These manuals are for UK butchers who handle or produce both raw and ready-to-eat food. Both these manualsl place strong emphasis on the control and protection of ready-to-eat food.
Butchers - Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Procedures
The information provided is intended to help butchers, and people working in butchers' shops to help them recognise food safety risks and develop procedures to manage food safety and keep food safe.
Meat industry guide
Guidance to assist butchers and UK meat plant operators comply with hygiene regulations and also meet the requirements for premises that require approval and veterinary control under the European Union Food Hygiene Regulations.