Category: Announcements

Co-operative Consortium announced

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Richard Mallett

MQM Consulting is absolutely delighted to announce that it has joined a Consortium of like minded professional organisation providing services to the food and related industries. The Consortium was set up by Peter and Nathan Reilly – the father and son founders of Cleaner Products – a company dedicated to the provision of UK produced cleaning chemicals and full technical support to the food industry.

We have joined as the technical experts for Food safety, Food Hygiene Audits, HACCP and BRC Certification. The Consortium contains dedicated professional companies within the pest control, cleaning chemicals, IT and customer services industries. This will soon grow to include other organisations able to offer other services to the food industry.

We remain as independent companies within the Consortium. This enables us all to draw on our strengths, collectively, and to provide a unique customer orientated service provision, without any conflict of interest. We support each other and have an innate trust in each other’s abilities which means that when we recommend each other to the food industry, we do so comfortably, knowing that the customer will receive a first rate service.

New EU Food Labelling Regulations

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Richard Mallett

The UK Food Standards Agency reports that the new Food Information Regulation has been published by the EU. This has been designed to make labelling clearer to the consumer. Most of the requirements will be mandatory from 2014 with the nutrition labelling part becoming mandatory from 2016. This may seem a long way off but those who manufacture long shelf life products will really need to start planning now. The regulation is intended to de-mystify, make easier and dispel for instance some of the origin loopholes that were in place.

Another unapproved premises.

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Richard Mallett

The Food Standards Agency releases a recall notice concerning some ready-to-eat foods produced in unapproved premises, which you can read in full here. What does this mean?

Well it means that some food products have been made in food premises which are not known to the local authority. This in turn means that critical food safety control systems, such as HACCP, may not be in place. Indeed if a business owner decides to bypass the approval process, they are unlikely to care too much about having the appropriate food safety controls in place. The risk of poisonous or injurious food increases significantly.

So if you have some of these products in the fridge, however nice they may look, don’t be tempted to consume them. Approval or registration of a food business is a core requirement of the EC Food Hygiene Regulations. It means that they can be assessed for adequate controls, such as HACCP, before operations commence and food goes to market.

If you are planning a food business then please put in place the appropriate food safety controls and then approach the local authority for registration or approval. If you need help putting those food safety controls in place then give us a call first.

 

Best before, Use By and Display Until dates

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Richard Mallett

I would not be surprised if the average consumer was left even more confused by the media, including BBC Breakfast this morning. Even the Freesat “text” service seemed to indicate that “the Food Standards Agency is getting rid of sell by dates”! Sell by dates have not existed for many years now of course. Display Until dates still do – they are and have always been a stock rotation guide really for the retailers.

Let me make this easy:

Use By Dates – this is an “order” – think of food in a fridge that “goes off ” and can become dangerous within a short space of time.

Best Before Date – a guideline – think of food in the cupboard like biscuits, chocolate, dried foods and tins. Theywill not become dangerous through bacterial growth. Actually the worst that can really happen is that food goes stale or beyond its best quality. Can you eat food beyond a best before date. Yes – it may not be so good but yes you can. The exception to this would be obviously mould spoilt products like bread or cakes – there is a potential risk with the consumption of some moulds, because of a toxin they produce – although this is rare.

So let’s be clear – the Food Standards Agency is asking for the removal of display until dates at the moment. That’s all. The further debate is whether Best Before dates should be abolished and there is a good case for this – perfectly good food is being wasted. They have issued guidance here - http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2011/sep/datelabels

 

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