Guidance for Small and Medium Food Enterprises | Food Safety | Institute of Food Science and Technology

We understand that making food safe within food businesses is challenging. This knowledge hub provides the help and guidance you need by identifying good practices that can be easily implemented and understood with minimal training.

General guidance

IFST Food Science Fact Sheets that condense scientific information into easy-to-understand 2 pagers

IFST Food Safety Webinars are available to members

FSA Managing food safety for small businesses

FSA Food hygiene requirements for your business

Food Standards Scotland general advice for new businesses

UK Hospitality Catering Industry Guide to Good Hygiene Practice

CFA Extreme Weather Protocol Guidance

Food safety legislation

The Food Safety Act 1990: A guide for food businesses

FSA General food law

FSA Other key regulations

Other

A strong safety culture is a prerequisite, particularly where the safety of employees and customers is dependent upon it. Food safety culture is still a relatively new concept in the food industry but has been gaining traction as its impact on the success of food safety management systems, procedures and practices has become clearer. It is increasingly cited in reports and papers related to food safety incidents and outbreaks and is also being identified as a significant emerging risk factor in food quality and food fraud. This section highlights: culture, management responsibility, and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP).

IFST article on an analysis of critical points that influence organisational safety cultures

IFST webinar- Food safety: Is it in the mind?

IFST article on emergence of a food safety culture: Principles and review of current initiatives to strengthen its impact on food safety performance

IFST article on insight into its evolution and adoption into food safety management systems, solutions and standards

GFSI Inculcating a Food Safety Culture: Management advice

ii. Management responsibility

This includes document control, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), audit scheduling (internal and external), ensuring traceability, tracking and resolving customer complaints, non-conformances and product recall.

IFST Good Manufacturing Practice Guide [£]

FSA food safety model documents for HACCP based record keeping

Ministry for Primary Industries (Govt. of NZ) guidance documents on Good Operating Practices for traceability, customer complaints, non-conformances, product recalls etc.

iii. Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)

HACCP is a food safety management system that aims to address hazards in food manufacturing systematically rather than exclusively through finished product testing.

FSA MyHACCP tool

FSA general requirements for prerequisites

FDA Comprehensive guidance to implementing a HACCP system including the 7 key steps

Prerequisite programmes

A Prerequisite Programme (PRP) is the foundation for HACCP and food safety within a facility to minimise hazards and their associated risks. Without one, there would be more Critical Control Points (CCPs) than possible to effectively manage, which in turn can reduce the efficacy of the entire system. This section considers premises, people, cleaning, equipment, process control, procurement and product information for users.

Considerations include:

i. Premises - site location, layout and design, materials, structure and condition, temperature control, utilities (air, water, energy), warehousing, preventative maintenance, hygienic design, pest control (rodents, birds, insects)

IFST and HOLCHEM’s hygienic design of food manufacturing premises

FSS guide on preventive maintenance. Although the Meat Industry guide has been withdrawn in England, this resource still provides a useful checklist.

Ministry for Primary Industries (Govt. of New Zealand) good operating practices for building facilities, site layout and design.

Government of Wales guidance on choosing a premises
Food Safety Magazine: Hygienic design of Food Manufacturing Premises
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Pest control measures. (ref page 25)
EHEDG guideline 8 on hygienic design
EHEDG guidelines [£] Guideline 44 outlines hygienic design principles for food factories. Guideline 47 covers ventilation.

ii. People - training, personnel hygiene/return to work and employee facilities

IFST article on training in food safety culture

IFST Information Statement on HIV aids and the food handler

IFST factsheet on hand hygiene

FSA business guidance on personal hygiene

FSS Guide for personal hygiene (Ch 8). Although the Meat Industry guide has been withdrawn in England, this resource still provides a useful checklist.
Campden BRI’s white paper on personal hygiene

iii. Cleaning - contract services (cleaning, laundry), waste control, glass and plastic management, cleaning and disinfection, inspection and maintenance, contamination control

IFST and SOFHT Technical fact sheet on cleaning and disinfection

IFST Information Statement on food waste

Campden BRI short video guide on cleaning factories

SALSA tools and tips for various SOPs including glass and brittle breakages

Campden BRI video on developing a cleaning plan
Campden BRI blog on reducing food waste while maintaining food safety
EHEDG guidelines [£] Guidelines 45, 52 and 55 outline cleaning, disinfection and validation in food manufacturing factories
Campden BRI Cleaning & Disinfection Guideline [£]

iv. Equipment - suitability, calibration, preventative maintenance, hygienic design

EHEDG Guideline 8: Hygienic design principles

Campden BRI video on hygienic design of equipment

v. Process control - measures to prevent the presence, introduction, growth and survival of pathogens, prevent cross-contamination, controlled rework

IFST factsheet on hand hygiene

CFA food safety considerations for developing and producing chilled foods

Campden BRI resources on working shelf life

vi. Procurement - supplier control (ingredients, packaging, services and equipment), incoming material/equipment specifications, distribution

IFST Food Science Fact Sheet on Food and Drink packaging

SALSA auditing standard interpretation guide

FSA Handling suppliers and contractors
SALSA guidance on raw material specification. Although these are requirements for a certification scheme – they are also very good guides to generic best practice.
SALSA guidance on distribution and storage. Although these are requirements for a certification scheme – they are also very good guides to generic best practice.
HSE Guide to the law and your responsibilities when buying new machinery for use at work
Campden BRI Guide on risk evaluation and management of raw materials [£]

vii. Product information for users - date coding, labelling

Hazards

A food hazard is something that could make food unsafe or unfit to eat. it's important to identify those stages in your business when hazards could be present so they can be removed or reduced to safe levels (FSA, 2017). This section highlights the following types of hazards: allergenic, physical, radiological, chemical, microbiological and hazard analysis.

i. Allergenic hazards

The identification, control and communication regarding food allergens have always been a critical issue throughout the food supply chain.

IFST Food Allergens Knowledge Hub. Since the subject of allergens, and the implications for food businesses, has been brought into even sharper focus, IFST has a dedicated knowledge hub for food allergens.

IFST Food Science Fact Sheet on Food Allergy

IFST Information Statement on allergen analysis

FSA allergen guidance for food businesses

ii. Physical hazards

These may include glass, hair, metal (machinery fragments, swarf, nuts, screws and bolts), plastic fragments, jewellery, filth (including grass, insect and plant fragments), fingernails, building materials (wall plaster, concrete, flakes of paint), packaging (staples, string, polythene, and cardboard), insects, rodent and other droppings, birds and bird fragments, bone, microplastics and nano plastics.

IFST Information Statement on Microplastics

IFST Information Statement on Physical Analysis

Food Safety Canada Common physical hazards and their prevention for food processors and distributors

GFSR Advanced detection of physical hazards

iii. Radiological hazards

IFST Information Statement on food irradiation

FSA Radioactivity in food in the UK- An introduction

iv. Chemical Hazards

These may include:

Chemical residues such as pesticides, veterinary medicines, and biocides:

Natural contaminants like marine biotoxins (e.g. shellfish toxins), mycotoxins, glycosides, plant-based toxins (e.g. pyrrolizidine alkaloids). There is a distinction between natural toxins from those inherently present in the plant intended to be eaten vs. those present in cross-contaminating weeds as the risk management controls are different:

Environmental contaminants like heavy metals, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs):

EFSA overview on heavy metal contaminants in food

Process contaminants such as acrylamide, glycidyl esters, monochloropropanediol (MCPD), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), ethyl carbamate, furan, cleaning products and disinfectants, pest-control contaminants, ethylene oxide:

IFST Information Statement on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Those from materials of construction e.g. methacrylate from flooring compounds (could taint food):