The Food Safety Act 1990

Introduced in 1990, The Food Safety Act is important to be aware of for any business in the hospitality industry, including all small businesses. The legislation was drawn up to ensure that no consumer will be put in danger because of the way their food has been prepared. Even though food safety does affect everyone, it is up to the workers in the industry to ensure that the rules and guidelines of The Food Safety Act 1990 are followed.

 What Is The Food Safety Act 1990?

The Food Safety Act 1990 sets the framework for all food safety procedures in the hospitality and catering industry in the United Kingdom and outlines the standards that must be adhered to by everyone involved. By failing to stick to the guidelines that have been put in place, businesses may be committing an offence under not only The Food Safety Act 1990 but also the Consumer Protection act 1987. There are three core responsibilities under this act, and they are as follows:

• Ensuring that the food has nothing removed from or added to it in such a way that it could be of harm to those consuming it and ensuring that the food is not treated in a manner that could cause any such harm.

• Ensuring that all food that is sold or served to a consumer is of the quality, nature and substance type that they are expecting.

• Ensuring that food is not presented, labelled or otherwise advertised in a way that misleads them.

What Does The Food Safety Act 1990 Cover?

The Food Safety Act 1990 covers any business that is involved with selling food or simply buying food with the intent to sell, consign, supply or deliver it. It also applies to those presenting, preparing, storing, labelling, importing or exporting the food. No matter if it is a small or large business, a hospital or a school, the act must be adhered to. The environmental guidelines created under the food safety policy do not cover any food hygiene regulations since there is a separate legislation that covers this. Still, food hygiene legislation was able to be put into effect because of the Food Safety Act 1990 that came before it.

What Do Businesses Have to do Under the Act?

At the end of the day, businesses need to make sure the food does not harm a person’s health while also ensuring it is of the quality, substance or nature that the consumer has come to expect. As mentioned, they must also ensure the food they are selling is not falsely presented or described. The Food Standards Agency in charge of creating the Food Safety Act 1990 states that the daily work of enforcing this act is the main responsibility of those who handle food in one way or another.

Businesses must take responsibility when it comes to complying with the Food Safety Act 1990 on their own. Small businesses especially need to make sure they know the ins and outs of the act to make sure they are not violating any laws that could result in them being fined or shut down. Due to this, proper training is crucial.

We know what a minefield this could be for businesses so why not trust Mindboost to support with learning designed to be accessible to everyone and specifically for the hospitality industry.