3. Where do food businesses and food law professionals get guidance on food safety and standards?
This chapter explores how food businesses access guidance on food safety and standards. It examines the relationships between businesses and food law professionals, other sources of guidance used by food businesses, such as training, certification and retail-driven standards, industry standards and word of mouth, and guidance used by food law professionals, including non-FSS guidance.
Key findings:
- Food law professionals play an essential role in providing food businesses with guidance, particularly guidance and tools created by FSS, with inspections being a key point of information exchange, as well as the registration of a new business.
- Food businesses speak positively about their relationship with food law professionals, but the extent of engagement varies depending on the location and type of food businesses.
- While many feel they would be comfortable in approaching food law professionals if they have questions or need clarification, guidance is not regularly sought because food businesses typically perceive little change in their day-to-day operations.
- Food businesses described using a range of other sources to find information about food safety. Online searches are commonly used for quick answers to questions about food safety and standards. However, food businesses prefer established, authoritative sources such as official websites and representative bodies, believing that these are more likely to offer clear, practical and trustworthy guidance.
- FSA guidance was repeatedly mentioned by food law professionals, particularly in instances where guidance is not provided by FSS, and it was felt that FSA guidance is the next best alternative.
3.1 The relationship between food businesses and food law professionals
Food businesses of all types highlighted the central role of food law professionals in providing the advice, information and guidance they need to ensure compliance. Food law professionals are seen as the ‘face’ of regulation, and are often the only direct point of contact for food safety matters, especially for smaller or independent businesses. Inspections are the key point of information exchange. However, interviewees also described accessing support when they first started their businesses, or approaching food law professionals to clarify any changes to standards or legislation. A few also mentioned being provided with additional or tailored guidance, such as written notes or checklists, following an inspection.
Support during the initial setup and registration of a new food business was highlighted as a time when businesses require the most guidance and support from food law professionals. However, as staff or owners of new businesses often have pre-existing knowledge and experience of the sector and may be less likely to require as much support.
“I would say home food businesses [are] very much reliant on it [guidance] because you’ve maybe got somebody that's never done it before and going… Most people respond well to it [guidance], particularly if there's a document they can use and just fill in, for example.
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Between inspections, much of the interaction between businesses and food law professionals is desk-based. While most businesses felt comfortable contacting their local food law professionals with any questions, this was not commonly reported during interviews. This was partly because many would seek guidance elsewhere in the first instance, particularly online (see below), but also because questions do not arise regularly because food businesses typically perceive little change in their day-to-day operations. Where food law professionals were approached, email was felt to be the most efficient way to get in touch. For example, one business noted that their food law professional directed them to the FSS website for guidance on questions they had about ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ dates. A few noted that their food law professional could advise them if they needed to change any of their products or make changes to their premises.
Most businesses described positive relationships with their local authority’s food law professionals, but the depth of interaction varied. One key factor was location. Businesses in larger, urban local authorities tended to have weaker relationships with their food law professionals. In some areas, food businesses felt inspections had become less frequent, or noted they had been inspected by different food law professionals at each recent inspection. A few businesses felt this decline in contact could be due to resource constraints within local authorities, though it may also be due to visits moving towards a focus on risk status rather than annual inspections.
Conversely, businesses in smaller or rural local authorities continued to have regular inspections, and long-standing businesses had come to know and build a good working relationship with their designated food law professional. These businesses benefited from more targeted advice and guidance because their regular food law professional had developed an understanding of their business over several visits.
In practice, this means that food businesses in cities interact with different professionals less frequently, while businesses in more rural areas, for example, are better placed to contact their food law professional between inspections, if needed.
“We're in pretty regular contact with our EHO [Environmental Health Officer], and he's actually very good at updating us… He's also very good at [telling us] challenges that you wouldn't think of that the other businesses that he works with come across, and he thinks ‘Oh, they've maybe not thought about that, it's worth mentioning to them if they have similar working practices to us.
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Food law professionals reflected that their relationships with food businesses can differ depending on the size of the businesses. They observed that smaller businesses, such as takeaways and home businesses, generally need and receive more support than larger businesses or chains. This was particularly true for larger businesses with dedicated food safety teams or technical staff, or that could afford consultants to advise staff on food safety and standards and changes in legislation.
“A lot of the larger manufacturers and larger sorts of multinational companies will all have teams of people who are able to provide this kind of information for them. But those smaller and medium-sized premises, or businesses, they rely on us going and being able to provide that information because they don't know where to find it for themselves necessarily, or they just don't have the time to go and look.
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The type of food businesses also determines the level of support required from food law professionals. While businesses, such as cafes, take up more food law professionals' time due to their prevalence, some rarer businesses that create novel or higher-risk products, such as home-based fermented foods, require more support than other, more ‘standard’ businesses.
While most businesses reported positive relationships with their food law professionals, a few expressed frustrations about the perceived inconsistency between different food law professionals, both in terms of knowledge levels and their interpretation of regulations. This can lead to confusion and a sense that compliance is subject to individual opinion rather than clear rules. A few stakeholders also expressed concerns about the perceived inconsistency of advice between food law professionals. This highlights the need for guidance that ensures all parties are clear and agree on what is required
“It depends on the officer you get that day, and it depends on their thought process. A lot of them tend to then pick on things like the taps should have the handles where you can use your elbows. One other will come in and go, ‘your shelf shouldn't be wooden, it should be tiled’. And then a year goes by, and the next person goes, ‘it shouldn't be tiled’
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“I would say an area for improvement, just from what I've seen over the years, is EHO's training. I don't know the ins and outs of what training they get… but I have seen misunderstandings from EHOs when giving guidance, even though they are supposed to give correct guidance. I have seen some discrepancies there. So I think more needs to be done to make sure EHOs are getting the guidance and tools they need because they are covering so much, obviously, when they go in and inspect businesses.
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Some food law professionals noted that they are often relied on to give wider advice and guidance than just compliance with food law. For example, one stated they had dealt with businesses that were unaware of how to register or what they needed to do as a new business and were called on to advise as part of that process. Another noted that some food businesses may be unfamiliar with Scottish standards and regulations because no training is required to start a food business in Scotland.
“My main issue is probably businesses not actually looking for or applying the guidance... I don't have any major issues with the guidance itself
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Food law professionals also felt they could be called on to provide support because of time and staffing constraints in food businesses, and language barriers among food business staff.