Also number 60 on Amazon's cooking category, I know its not top ten, but hey we are the new kids on the block

Thanks to everyone who brought a copy of the Kitchen Safety Record 2015 Yearbook, thanks to taking us to number 2 on Lulu.com in the cooking category.





 

Introduction from "Eat yourself to death":

Death by food

You know deep inside your heart that the junk you are eating is ruining your health. That thought flashes in your mind every time, you go shopping for clothes, for food, every time you look in the mirror or stand on the scales, every time you eat another chocolate bar, or order that extra large pizza or order your fourth takeaway meal of the week. You know that you are killing yourself slowly, bite by bite, munch by munch, burger-by-burger, cake-by-cake, fizzy drink by fizzy drink. You are slowly eating yourself to death.

There are no new facts in this book, no new research to report, no new diet fad to promote, the recommendations outlined here have been suggested and presented countless times in a million different places. This is a fat free, lean version of all the information, you need to live longer. You don’t need to wade through facts and figures in a two hundred page book to get the information that you need. This book is a short, quick reminder of what you need to know and do to help yourself.

Yes, you must help yourself, the reason for the epidemic of excess weight is that we eat far too much high calorie food, overdosed with sugar and fat and don’t burn it off with enough physical activity.

Whose fault is it? Fast food outlets? the food industry? Supermarkets? Feckless governments? You can blame all of the above but the person in the mirror must take the major share of the blame.

In these days of compensation culture, every one knows their rights but personal responsibility has crawled down a hole and died.

 

Order your copy here

 

 

FSA publishes local authority food law enforcement information

 

24 October 2014

The Food Standards Agency has today published official statistics on food law enforcement by local authorities across the UK for the year 2013/14.

The information is compiled by the FSA from returns by local authorities and it gives the FSA a detailed breakdown of enforcement activity across the country.

The figures show an increase in a number of areas of local authority enforcement activity, and levels of hygiene compliance in food business, in spite of reported staffing reductions.

John Barnes, Head of Local Delivery at the FSA, said: 'The figures this year show business hygiene compliance levels are continuing to improve with 91.7% of food businesses equivalent to FHRS level 3 or above. There’s also been a notable increase in food sampling by local authorities to check food authenticity and to make sure food is what it says is, is safe and is properly labelled.

'These are very positive developments and it’s good to see that local authorities are continuing to target their work in the face of lower staffing levels, which have continued to fall and which reduced  by 3.2% in 2013/14 compared with the previous year.

'We’re very aware of staffing pressures at local authorities and we are working with senior colleagues across the UK to ensure that effective controls are in place in local authorities to protect both local consumers and legitimate food businesses.'

Article courtesy of the Food Standards Agency

14 Allergen list courtesy of the FSA

Food businesses unprepared for new allergen regulations, law firm warns

By Nicola Hutchins

Restaurants and cafés are being warned that they face being hit with a hefty fine or civil action if they are not ready when new European regulations are enforced later this year.

New regulations on food labelling which require allergens such as peanuts and shellfish to be clearly signposted on food were published in December 2011 – and manufacturers have been given until December 2014 to comply with their provisions.

Many cafés, restaurants and catering businesses may be unaware that the regulations also apply to them. Even when they are serving up food that has been removed from its packaging, staff should be ready to answer questions on ingredients and about which allergens may be present.

Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 specifically requires 14 separate allergens to be highlighted in ingredients lists and is part of a raft of new measures aimed at making sure consumers know exactly what their food contains.

Business including cafes, restaurants, pubs and even mobile caterers which fail to comply will leave themselves vulnerable to legal action, and the possibility of a fine in the criminal courts.

This legislation specifically requires allergens to be highlighted in ingredients lists on food packaging – but restaurants, cafes and take-aways may not know that the new rules also carry huge implications for any business that serves food to its customers as they also apply to food served without packaging.

Business owners and their staff should be ready to quickly and accurately answer questions on which allergens are present in the dishes on offer. It may be helpful to have a list of ingredients for each menu item at hand to ensure that the information is readily available.

Businesses should always be ready for the possibility that they may be inspected by their local Environmental Health officers – and failure could carry a fine of up to £5,000 per offence. Perhaps more worryingly, they leave themselves open to legal action if they serve up food containing allergens to an allergy sufferer who has asked for information about ingredients and has ordered in reliance of incorrect information.

Business owners who are unsure about the rules and how they might be affected should make sure they take advice well before they begin to be enforced in December to ensure they are compliant with the new regulations.

About the Author

Solicitor Nicola Hutchins, an expert in food safety regulations at law firm Blake Morgan helps clients manage risk by working with them to challenge enforcement actions and through her advisory work in risk management, policies and due diligence. Nicola can be contacted here.