Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB) is a practical approach to food safety management. This food safety management system, introduced by the Food Standards Agency, has been developed to help small catering and retail businesses such as restaurants, cafés, takeaways and shops comply with food safety regulations introduced in January 2006.
Food regulations require all businesses to document their food safety controls and carry out monitoring to ensure they are being correctly implemented. The amount of documentation you need will depend on the type of food you prepare and the risks presented by your business.
SFBB is an easy to use fact sheet that concentrates on controlling the four main potential hazards in any catering business. These are the 4 Cs:
- Cross-contamination
- Cleaning
- Chilling
- Cooking
In addition there is a section on the management of food safety that details how the system should be monitored and recorded. It is designed to fit any catering business.
Each SFBB pack is split into five sections containing a number of fact sheets called 'Safe Methods'. Typical safe methods include instructions on "Cooking Food Safely" and "Reheating" for example. You will need to look at the pack and decide which safe methods apply to your business, and then follow them. There are about twenty methods in total covering aspects of the "4Cs", but not all of them will apply to all businesses.
In the management section a simple diary is provided for easy record keeping. This also includes a four-weekly review to ensure that the document remains up-to-date and to allow common problems to be identified and addressed.
What's in it for me?
Safety Food Better Business provides you with a documented food safety management system in an easy to follow, ready made pack.
- If followed and maintained, SFBB will ensure you comply with the requirements of food safety legislation
- It is designed to cut out jargon, and can be easily tailored to your business
- It will be recognised and used in food businesses throughout the UK
- It will help ensure that you produce safe food and may result in fewer visits by your Environmental Health Officer
- It's free and all that's needed is your time to complete each section
Download a SFBB pack
You can download a pack from the SFBB pages of the Food Safety Standards Agency website.
Common questions
These are some of the questions the food safety team are asked most often.
How long will it take me to implement the system?
It is suggested that food businesses should complete one of the five sections per week and that each of the five sections should take one hour to work through.
What happens once I have implemented the system?
Once you have implemented the system, you need to ensure that it is adhered to by you and your employees. You should also review your diary every 4 weeks and when operations change, such as style of cooking or use of new equipment.
Will this take up a lot of time and will I need to keep lots of records?
With SFBB, filling in the diary is the only daily record you will need to complete. This should only take a couple of minutes each day.
You don't need to keep lots of records. Once you have worked through the safe methods, you will have a record of what your business does to make sure the food is safe to eat.
This will only need to be reviewed and amended if you change the way your food business operates.
I write down the fridge temperature every day, should I keep doing this?
Keeping a written record of fridge temperature is good practice, and helps to highlight when a problem arises.
SFBB still requires you to monitor fridge temperatures, but you would only need to make a record when problems have arisen and what you have done to correct them.
If you are already recording the fridge temperatures and cooking temperatures daily then we would recommend that you continue to do so.
Will the Council help me to implement the new changes?
Yes, we will be available to help you to implement the pack and will continue to provide advice and guidance on all other aspects of food safety.
Do I have to change to SFBB if I already have a system in place?
No. Some premises may already have a satisfactory documented food safety system in place which has been provided by their parent company or has been developed in-house.
If you already have one of these systems then it may mean that you already comply with the food safety requirements. You are however advised to speak to your company or contact us for further advice.
What happens if I don't implement SFBB?
The food safety regulations require you to implement a documented food safety system. SFBB has been developed to assist food businesses in complying with this new requirement.
If you choose not to use SFBB and do not implement and maintain any other suitable system the Council may take legal action in line with its enforcement policy.
In view of the free pack and guidance that is being offered we hope that such legal action will not be necessary.
