This may surprise you but the Food Hygiene Ratings Scheme score delivered after an inspection is understood by consumers. Scores have a dramatic impact on trading levels and reputation.
In consumer research, unclean premises were regarded as unforgivable by 66% of clients and 57% of people wouldn’t return to an establishment with a poor food hygiene score.
75% of customers would not revisit a food business that had been implicated in a food hygiene incident.
In each of these instances a food outlet loses well over half of their potential business. Can your venture afford to lose so much revenue? No? Then you’ll need to manage food hygiene and premises maintenance professionally and within legal requirements.
The responsibility to manage lies with the owner/manager but every member of a team from a new starter or trainee to long term staff member must be knowledgeable about food hygiene standards, their role in the workplace and the risks and ramifications of abandoning rules.
Knowledge and the ability to practically apply legislation meeting cleanliness and food hygiene levels is gained through professional training.
- Food safety training.
- Health and safety training.
- Food safety management system training.
From online or in person study that takes a few hours to a few days every few years the business benefits including proficiency and universal adoption of best practices assure a team that they are:
- Working to the same standard towards a higher Food Hygiene Ratings Scheme score.
- How to identify a risk and implement corrective behaviour.
- That management cares and has invested in them with training.
- The food safety inspector sees a proactive approach to food hygiene and premises cleanliness.
- The consumers are reassured by the display of commitment, professionalism and efficiency.
- Effective management is proven by an excellent Food Hygiene Ratings Scheme score.
- Word of mouth and social media recommendations will replace or banish bad reviews.
Training is available through a specialist training company like the London based Food Alert and starts at level 1, basic, through to level 4 for management, owners and supervisors. It is a legal requirement that every staff member attends a food safety course.
If you don’t have a food safety management system in place then please invest in Hazards Analysis Critical Control Points or HACCP training.
The level 2 course normally covers the following and it’s equivalent to GCSE grades A*-C:
- The HACCP food safety management system.
- Risk awareness.
- The purpose and benefits of HACCP training.
- Use of the HACCP food safety management system.
- The seven principles of HACCP.
- How to identify HACCP procedures.
- Food hygiene.
- Assessing critical control points.
- Contamination and its various sources.
- Control methods to prevent contamination.
- How to reduce or eliminate risks.
- Workplace and food safety.
- Recognition of hazards, critical control points.
- How to initiate corrective actions at all levels of employment.
- Why a HACCP plan is integral to this.
Invest in training and keep work practices at optimum levels so that cleanliness and food hygiene aren’t an issue.
The alternative? Closure.
