Food retailers and catering businesses in the district are set to benefit from extra support to ensure they comply with new hygiene laws introduced earlier this year - with the launch of special free seminars at Dover District Council.
The Food Standards Agency has awarded grants nationally worth more than £4M to help food businesses implement Safer Food Better Business, the food safety management pack that offers simple, practical guidance for small catering and retail businesses. The cash will go to 33 projects involving 99 local authorities in England. This is the second year that the FSA has made the awards as part of its ongoing commitment to help food businesses comply with EU regulations introduced in January. Nationally, the grants will be used by Local Authorities to help some 23,000 small food businesses implement SFBB. There are two versions of the pack, one for caterers and one for retailers. Both were produced in partnership with industry and Local Authorities.
Dover District Council, together with eleven other District Councils in Kent, has been awarded a £330,000 grant after its successful bid to the Food Standards Agency. The funding will help the Council work with local businesses, using innovative and simple guidance, to improve hygiene standards and legal compliance.
In the coming months the Council's Food Safety team in partnership with a private sector hygiene company will be holding seminars and working on a one-to-one basis with local businesses to ensure their food safety standards meet the requirements of the new EU regulations. The training and coaching is free to small food businesses who need to introduce the system into their business for the first time.
The first seminar is on 22 November 2006 and will be held at DDC offices in Whitfield. At the end of the programme of seminars some 1,440 businesses across Kent will have been trained and encouraged to use Safer Food Better Business. The project is supported by The Kent Food Technical Group, made up of leading Food and Health Practitioners across the county.
For further information please contact: Sarah McEwen, Environmental Health Officer, Tel 01304 872216.
