What is Due Diligence in Food Safety?

It’s no wonder searching for an answer to the question, What is Due Diligence in Food Safety? for individuals whose profession involves operating a food business as it is crucial to ensure that their products are safe for consumption, which is a fundamental aspect of their responsibility towards consumers’ health and wellbeing. Due diligence in food safety is the measures a company takes to guarantee the safety of the food it manufactures or sells.

This is important to protect the health and safety of consumers, as well as to comply with legal and regulatory requirements. In addition, it requires a commitment to ongoing monitoring, testing, and improvement, as well as close attention to all aspects of the food production and distribution process.

This blog outlines the law about due diligence and how to prove it in your food business. Acknowledging this will enable you to establish that your organisation meets acceptable food hygiene practices and avoid legal complications.

 Let’s dive into the details without further adieu.

What is Due Diligence in Food Safety?

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So, what is due diligence in food safety? Due diligence, meaning in food safety practices, is the ability to show that your business has done everything logically necessary to prevent food safety breaches.

Following and documenting an appropriate HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) system is an excellent approach to demonstrating due diligence. It can be your major due diligence defence against legal issues under the Food Safety Act 1990.

Due diligence in food safety includes —

• analysing the entire process of producing, handling, and distributing food, 
• identifying critical control points where hazards can be prevented or reduced, 
• and taking appropriate measures to ensure the safety of food products. 

So, the goal of due diligence in food safety is to prevent foodborne illnesses and protect the health and safety of consumers.

When it comes to due diligence in food safety, paying close attention to and adhering to Kitchen Safety Rules is of paramount importance. These rules are designed to create a safe and secure environment within the kitchen, where food is prepared, cooked, and served. By diligently following these guidelines, individuals can greatly minimise the risks associated with foodborne illnesses, accidents, and injuries.

Plus, check out our other blog on Kitchen Safety Rules if you want to keep yourself and others safe from dangers in the kitchen.

How to Demonstrate Due Diligence in Food Premises?

Food premises can demonstrate due diligence by maintaining up-to-date food safety management records. Specifically, documentation of your food safety practices and HACCP procedures will aid in demonstrating compliance. Therefore, this will ensure that you do everything possible to produce safe, high-quality food products. 

The sort of food safety HACCP system you require is determined by the size of your business and its activities. That is why it is crucial to conduct a food risk assessment or a HACCP risk assessment regularly to determine your requirements. 

Give our HACCP Level 2 Course a shot! You’ll get to know all about identifying vulnerable folks when it comes to germs and chemicals in food. Plus, you’ll become a pro at controlling risks, including handling foods that need extra care. The course covers stuff like spotting hazards, stopping contamination, and setting up good safety basics. For anyone who deals with food, it’s a must-know!

Let’s explore a food safety due diligence checklist that can help businesses ensure they are meeting their legal and moral obligations to produce safe food products:

Food Safety Due Diligence Checklist

Create a food safety management system, such as HACCP or ISO 22000.

Stay updated with food safety legislation and standards.

Perform regular hazard studies of your manufacturing process to identify potential dangers.

Implement control measures to manage the identified risks, including monitoring critical control points, such as — cooking temperatures,  fridge and freezer temperatures, storage conditions,  and equipment maintenance.

Maintain a clean and hygienic production area, such as — proper hand washing facilities,  pest control,  and sanitation practices.

Ensure that all employees are trained in proper food handling techniques, such as — personal cleanliness  and allergen control

Regularly test food products for contaminants, such as — pathogens and chemical residues

Check supplier compliance by inspecting their food safety management systems and testing for contaminants.

Maintain detailed records of all food safety activities, such as — hazard analyses,  control methods,  personnel training,  testing,  and supplier compliance.

Perform regular reviews of your food safety management system to ensure that it stays effective and up to date with any changes in food manufacturing — processes,  products,  or regulations.

Several pieces of food hygiene legislation aim to preserve the safety and quality of food items while also protecting public health. Let’s explore some of the key legislation in the below section. 

Besides, if you’re involved in handling food, whether at home or for your business, understanding the different types of food contamination is essential. It’s important to know about biological, chemical, physical, and cross-contamination risks. This knowledge will help you maintain food safety and keep potential health hazards at bay in your kitchen and during food preparation.
Besides, visit our other blog to learn about the four types of food contamination.

Food Hygiene Legislation

• Food Safety Act 1990 (Sets out the plan for food safety regulation and enforcement in the UK.)
• Food Hygiene Regulations 2006 (Sets out the rules for all food businesses to ensure their actions are hygienic.)
• Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 (Sets out the criteria for food businesses to operate safely and comply with food safety systems, including the implementation of HACCP systems. These are amendments to the 2006 regulations.)
• Food Labelling Regulations (Defines the standards for accurate and informative food labelling, including information on ingredients, allergens, and nutrition.)

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Feeling overwhelmed by the multitude of food safety legislation? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Our Food Safety Training Course is here to simplify things for you. This course will train you in food safety so well that you won’t need to worry about numerous regulations anymore. It simplifies everything, making it easy for you to ensure proper food safety without getting overwhelmed by the many legislations.
Knowing about the offences outlined in the Food Safety Act 1990 is important. So, let’s explore some of these in detail.

What is an Offence?

Let’s explore three primary offences under the Food Safety Act 1990:

Rendering food injurious to health (Section 7)	Refers to any action that makes food unsafe to consume, such as — adding a hazardous material to it, removing a vital ingredient that makes the product unsafe,  using a dangerous way to make a product.
Selling to the buyer any food that is not ‘of the nature or substance or quality’ desired by the buyer (Section 14)	This section includes actions, for instance,  labelling turkey as chicken having things in products that laws do not approve, such as too much of certain substances.
Falsely or misleadingly describing or presenting food (Section 15)	This section includes actions, for instance,  not listing all the ingredients in a product that could cause an allergic reaction or saying a product has certain ingredients or flavours when it doesn’t.

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Adequate food hygiene training is necessary for anyone employed in the food industry. That’s why we provide a range of online food hygiene courses at various levels, including diplomas, to ensure that individuals working in food preparation, sales, or service are adequately trained. 

Our courses are accredited by CPD UK, making our certification widely recognised. Take a look at all the available courses and select the one that best suits your requirements.

Wrapping Up

Hopefully, after going through the entire blog, you have a pretty sound knowledge of the question, What is due diligence in food safety? Food business operators must prioritise due diligence in food safety to keep consumers safe and protect their business interests.

Neglecting proper food safety procedures can lead to unsafe food products, harm to customers, and negative consequences for the business. Always follow this saying, “Safer Food, Better Business.”

FAQs What is the main defence under food safety law? The main defence under food safety law is that the food business operator can prove that they took all reasonable steps and showed due diligence under the Food Safety Act 1990 to avoid doing the offence. What could help your business prove due diligence? Keeping records, analysing risks, training staff, following HACCP rules, checking distributors, and quickly dealing with any safety issues can help a business show due diligence in food safety incidents. Name one offence under the food standards act 1990. The sale of food not of the nature, substance, or quality desired by the consumer is an offence under the Food Standards Act of 1990. (Section 14). What is a food safety management system? A food safety management system is a way to maintain food safety in a food business that includes policies, procedures, and practices to ensure that food is safe.  What are the 4 Cs of cooking? The 4Cs of cooking refer to four basic principles of food safety: Cleaning, Cooking, Chilling, and Cross-contamination prevention. What is IFSQN? The IFSQN is an online group that helps people in the food industry learn how to make safe and high-quality food by offering education, training, and discussion forums. Even experts can share their knowledge, best practices, and resources. What is FSMA? The Food Safety Modernization Act, or FSMA, is a law in the US that aims to make food safer by preventing contamination instead of just reacting to it.