Retail News|September 2013|www.retailnews.ie|59
Food Safety Training
Could You Survive a Food Scare? Food retailers are facing new challenges when it comes to food safety. However, you can protect your business reputation through food safety training, writes Marie Ryan, Senior Environmental Health Officer, EHOA. RAPID changes in how our food is sourced and produced are creating new challenges for food retailers, who may end up suffering the collateral damage caused by a food scare. Food is no longer, as we once thought, produced in a straight line from farm to fork. In reality, livestock in the field go through an increasingly complicated chain of processing and finishing plants before finally landing on retail shelves. The recent horsemeat scandal demonstrates how this chain can become tangled and subject to fraud. In fact, the term ‘food fraud’ is one that we are likely to hear a lot more of. And even when fraud isn’t an issue, contamination of a food product in one manufacturing plant can result in shock waves throughout Europe. E. coli in your cucumber, anyone? Hepatitis A in your frozen berries? Increased Legislation and Awareness And there are other concerns. Environmental Health Officers now enforce an increasing raft of legislation, much of it originating in Europe. The year 2012 saw over 90 food businesses served with closure orders by Environmental Health Officers, an increase of 36% on the previous year. It can take years to recover from the reputation damage of a closure, as local and national media often cover the story. In addition, retailers now serve a public that is increasingly aware of food scares and bad food practices - and increasingly likely to complain if they see something they don’t like. According to the Food Safety Authority, complaints jumped by 28% between 2009 and 2012. Consumers have become highly sensitised to what they hear on the news and have never been more vocal. In such an uncertain environment, reputation is king. We cannot know where the next food story or complaint will come from. Nor can the manager or owner be in their retail store 24 hours a day. So in order to protect the reputation of a retail store, it is imperative to have properly trained staff. A well trained staff member will be able to identify and control hazards in the retail environment. They will also be able to implement strong traceability and recall procedures. It is good news, therefore, to learn that the Environmental Health Officers’ Association (EHOA) has launched its flagship primary food safety course in an online version. Already, over 90,000 EHOA Certificates in Primary Food Safety have been awarded to the food service and food retailing industry. This eLearning programme is the only online course in Ireland that is designed and certified by the Environmental Health Officers Association.
Environmental Health Officers have recently seen an explosion in the German cockroach population in Ireland.
Food Complaints: What Gets Us Hot and Bothered? Some of the most common complaints made about retail environments include: 1. Poor food handling practices, e.g. servers using the same glove for handling food and money; 2. A taste of chemicals on foodstuffs as a result of improper cleaning practices; 3. Alleged food poisoning complaints; 4. Dirty, greasy surfaces; 5. Pest complaints, including large amounts of house or fruit flies, mice and even cockroaches! The Pest Medicine? The big stories that can close down a premises and hit the headlines are often about pests, particularly rodents. In the UK, which is comparable with Ireland, figures show the rat population has been rising, with estimations that 81m rats now reside in the UK, that is 1.3 rats per person. High rat populations in the UK and Ireland are often attributed to the mild climate, enabling higher survival rates during the winter months. Building works and flood defences can result in a loss of habitat for our furry friends, who then migrate to the smelly waste receptacles at the back of your store, and indeed into your store itself. The presence of even one of these creatures can be sufficient to cause closure.
60|Retail News|September 2013|www.retailnews.ie
Food Safety Training infestation can also lead to closure. Some retailers can unwittingly bring cockroaches onto their premises if they purchase infested second hand equipment.
This year, an outbreak of Hepatitis A was linked to contamination from frozen berries.
Environmental Health Officers have also recently seen an explosion in the German cockroach population in Ireland. These at least have the decency to be a bit smaller than their American colleagues, measuring about one and a half centimetres in length but a significant
Highest Training Standards Given the reputational damage a closure can have on any food retailing operation, the greatest way to protect any business is to have proper systems in place and properly trained staff. The regulations around food hygiene and foodstuffs state that food workers have to be trained and/or supervised in food hygiene matters commensurate with their work activity [Regulation (EC) 852/2004 on Hygiene and Foodstuffs]. The EHOA is at the forefront of training and education, as well as promoting the highest standards in the management of risk and compliance in catering and retail environments. This is one reason why so many businesses opt for the reassurance of an EHOA certified Primary Food Safety Programme. The Certificate
is valid for five years. The Benefits of eLearning Accessing food safety
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It can take years to recover from the reputation damage of a closure, as local and national media often cover the story. In addition, consumers have become highly sensitised to what they hear on the news and have never been more vocal.
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Environmental Health Officers Association Chairman, Caitriona Stack.
training through eLearning makes sense for retailers who may find it difficult to release staff for day-long training sessions. Often, these training days are at locations that are some distance from the retail outlet, leading to additional travel costs. With online learning, employees can take bite-sized pieces of the programme at times that suit the learner and employer. The demand for eLearning is increasing. People taking online courses enjoy the
fact that they set the pace of learning. Today, eLearning has improved vastly so that self-directed learning is fun. The programme has been designed so that it is particularly accessible for people whose first language may not be English. The EHOA has spent months developing the programme, working with Irish company, Dulann.com, to ensure the materials are user friendly and fun, while still meeting all Irish legislation and HACCP standards. The course has lots of videos and interactive games and takes approximately eight hours to complete. The content and duration of the programme is, therefore, broadly similar to the programme that is already available through over 200 EHOA registered trainers. Offering Reassurance Speaking about the new programme, the EHOA Chairman, Caitriona Stack, said, “The EHOA wants to enhance the industry standard we have in this country. We have worked very hard to ensure that our eLearning Primary Food Safety course meets the high standard the food industry expects from our organisation. We continue to guarantee the integrity of this programme by enabling participants to take a one-hour written assessment, leading to the coveted EHOA Certification. For companies who wish to protect their reputation and their brand, this offers great reassurance.” Retailers can avail of corporate packages or buy individual programmes that can be accessed through the EHOA website at www.ehoa.ie. The course costs €150 per participant and significant discounts are available on larger corporate packages. The course includes all online learning materials plus exam assessment, a copy of the Food Safety Workbook, and EHOA Certification on successful completion of the assessment. For further information, contact Deirdre Fitzsimons at the EHOA on info@ehoa. ie or call (01) 2761211.