FSA to target new food pubs

Publicans launching a food operation are being targeted by a new food safety campaign from the government's Food Standards Agency (FSA).

A new booklet called Starting Up: Your first steps in running a catering business​, has been written by the FSA in association with the Small Business Service, Customs & Excise and the Inland Revenue.

It will be sent out to new food businesses, along with a food hygiene training video on CD-Rom.

Hundreds of small catering businesses open every week, with pubs making up a large number of those businesses.

A recent survey of 1,000 caterers by the FSA discovered that new, smaller catering outlets are less likely than more established large businesses to put their staff through food hygiene courses.

These results followed the Publican's Market Report, a survey of 750 licensees, which discovered that only half of pub staff were qualified in food hygiene.

The new FSA campaign is focused on making good hygiene practice as easy as possible for busy licensees.

It will provide expert advice to anyone thinking about introducing food into their pub or opening a new food outlet from scratch.

An information pack will be distributed to new caterers, covering everything they need to know about food hygiene, as well as useful business advice.

The pack deals with the four Cs of good hygiene - cleaning, cooking, chilling and cross-contamination - and also covers issues such as choosing suppliers and transporting food.

John Barnes, spokesman for the FSA, said: "Running a pub serving food to dozens of customers is not like cooking for the family at home. The risks are much higher and caterers need specialist knowledge to do the job safely.

"We want businesses to start out life with good hygiene habits. We know that when this happens those standards are more likely to be kept up over the lifetime of the business. Good hygiene makes good business sense."

Publicans who are considering launching a food business, or anyone thinking of opening a food-led pub, can call the FSA's business hotline on 0845 600 1321 or download the information pack from www.food.gov.uk/cleanup. It is also available through local authorities.