Meeting your Obligations

The Food Safety Act 1990

What it is?

The Food Safety Act 1990 is wide-ranging legislation on food safety and consumer protection in relation to food throughout Great Britain.

What does it cover?

  • Selling and possessing with a view to sale; Commercial
  • Free supply in the course of a business; Staff canteens etc.
  • Consigning and delivering; From Farm to the plate

The Food Safety (General Hygiene) Regulations 1995
'Food business' means any undertaking, carrying out any or all of the following operations, namely, Preparation, processing, manufacturing, packaging, storing, transportation, distribution, handling or offering for sale or supply of food.

What are the offences?

Growing, Storing, Preparing, transporting, selling food intended for people that is injurious to health.

  • What penalties can be imposed under the Act?
    • The courts decide the level of penalties depending on the circumstances of each case, but the Act sets the maximum penalties available to the courts.
    • For offences in England and Wales (other than obstruction and related offences), Crown courts may send offenders to prison for up to two years and/or impose unlimited fines.
    • Magistrates’ courts may impose a fine of up to £5,000 per offence and/or a prison sentence of up to six months.
    • In some sections of the Act, the maximum fine a magistrates’ court may set for each offence is £20,000.
    • In Scotland, the Sheriff court has a maximum sentence of 12 months and there is a statutory maximum fine of £10,000.
    • Regulations made under the Act may set their own level of penalties which will not exceed those listed above.

Schedule 1, Chapter 2, Paragraph D, States that:
Windows and other openings which can be opened to the outside environment must where necessary be fitted with ‘fly or insect proof screens’, which can be easily removed for cleaning. Where open windows would result in contamination of foodstuffs, windows must remain closed and fixed during production.

The Health and Safety Act at Work 1974
It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all his employees.

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2003
If you as an employer fail to control hazardous substances adequately, your employees or others may become ill. Effects from hazardous substances range from mild eye irritation to chronic lung disease or, on occasions, death. Hazardous substances include: biological agents such as bacteria and other micro-organisms.

What is the defence under the Food Safety Act?
"Due diligence" is a defence which is designed to balance the protection of the consumer against defective food with the right of traders not to be convicted of an offence they have taken all reasonable care to avoid committing. The result should be to encourage all concerned to take proper responsibility for their products.

What can we do to help?
Cannon Pest control provides expert advice and recommendations to all areas of business that can be affected by a drop in hygiene standards. This allows clients to enjoy the piece of mind that their processes are safe and compliant.

Cannon pest control technicians are highly trained in relevant aspects of food hygiene and can offer related advice on proofing stacking and housekeeping giving clients the added reassurance of a fully managed pest system. High end food processors can have the extra reassurance of a confidential expert. Cannon Pest control employs fully qualified environmental health experts to ensure that best practices are maintained at client sites.

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