Food Hygiene Enforcement Interventions

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Food Hygiene Enforcement Interventions
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Aim

• To provide delegates
• with an understanding of the food enforcement
  interventions provided for in the Food Law Code
  of Practice and
• practical guidance on their use.

3
Objectives

• The course will seek to provide delegates with
• A brief review of Regulatory Reform and how this
  has influenced changes to the Food Law Code of
  practice.
• A summary of the range of food enforcement
  interventions.
• Suggestions on how these interventions can be
  used to drive up business compliance with food
  law.
• Guidance on preparing service planning for the
  effective delivery of a food safety enforcement
  service.
• Practical help with promoting consistency in the
  use of enforcement interventions.

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Programme

• 09.30 Registration
• 10.00 Introduction
• The changing nature of food regulation
• 10.45 Food Hygiene Interventions
• 11.15 Coffee
• 11.30 Selecting Interventions
• 13.00 Lunch
• 13.45 Selecting Interventions
• Service planning
• 15.00 Coffee
• 15.15 Ensuring consistency
• 16.15 Questions

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IntroductionThe changing nature of food
regulation
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Regulatory Reform

• Hampton Report (2005)
• Reducing administrative burdens effective
  inspection and enforcement.
• McCrory Review (2006)
• Sanctions
• Davidson Review (2006)
• Compliance with EU law
• Rogers Review (2007)
• Priorities

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Regulatory Reform
Food Law Code of Practice
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Hampton Report

• Reducing administrative burdens effective
  inspection and enforcement.

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Hampton Principles

• Regulators should recognise that a key element
  of their activity will be to allow, or even
  encourage, economic progress and only to
  intervene when there is a clear case for
  protection

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Hampton Principles

• Regulators, and the regulatory system as a
  whole, should use comprehensive risk assessment
  to concentrate resources in the areas that need
  them most

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Hampton Principles

• Regulators should provide authoritative,
  accessible advice easily and cheaply

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Hampton Principles

• No inspection should take place without a
  reason

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Hampton Principles

• Businesses should not have to give unnecessary
  information or give the same piece of information
  twice

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Hampton Principles

• The few businesses that persistently break
  regulations should be identified quickly and face
  proportionate and meaningful sanctions

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Hampton Principles

• Regulators should be accountable for the
  efficiency and effectiveness of their activities,
  while remaining independent in the decisions they
  take.

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Regulatory Reform Act 2006Compliance Code
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Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006

• Regulatory functions
• transparent,
• accountable,
• proportionate,
• consistent, and
• targeted only at cases in which action is needed.

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Compliance Code

• S21 of Act, in force
• April 08
• Legislative basis to
• Hampton Principles
• Approved by Parliament

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Compliance CodePurpose

• to promote efficient and effective approaches
  to regulatory inspection and enforcement which
  improve regulatory outcomes without imposing
  unnecessary burdens on business, the Third Sector
  and other regulated entities.

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Compliance CodeDefinitions

• Regulatory outcomes
• end purpose of regulatory activity for example
• Improvement of compliance with food law
• Reduction in food poisoning

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Compliance CodeOverview

• Code requires regulators to
• adopt a positive and proactive approach towards
  ensuring compliance by
• helping and encouraging regulated entities to
  understand and meet regulatory requirements more
  easily and
• responding proportionately to regulatory
  breaches
• Regulatory functions
• Based on risk assessment.

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Compliance Code

• Certain Regulators required to have regard to the
  Compliance Code when
• Writing policies,
• Setting standards
• Providing guidance
• Code only applies to policy making.
• Not to inspections, investigations, prosecution
  and other enforcement activities.

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New Local Performance Framework

• New ways of working
• public sector organisations working together more
  to deliver better, more responsive services to
  local people
• public, private and third sectors striving
  together for improved prosperity with plenty of
  ambition for the future
• central and local government agreeing the
  priorities for an area and working together to
  improve outcomes
• opportunities for local people to influence
  decisions about services and how they are
  delivered.
• Focusing scarce resources on priority outcomes

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New Local Performance Framework

• National Indicators
• NI 184
• Local Strategic Partnership (LSP)
• Sustainable Community Strategy
• Local Area Agreements (LAAs)

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Objectives of Food Hygiene Service

• National Indicator 184
• Food establishments in the area which are broadly
  compliant with food hygiene law

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Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA)

• Introduced from April 2009.
• Each years CAA will have four elements
• an area risk assessment identifying risks to
  outcomes and the effectiveness of their
  management
• a scored use of resources judgement for public
  bodies in the area
• a scored direction of travel judgement for each
  local authority in the area and
• publication of performance data for each area
  against the set of national indicators.

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Implementing the changes.

• CAA will see a shift from cyclical to risk-based
  inspection only when its deemed necessary or
  likely to aid improvement.
• Michael OHiggins
• Chairman Audit Commission

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Source Food matters at your council LACORS/FSA
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Food Law Code of Practice
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Food Law Code of PracticeIntroduction

• Revision necessary
• Bring food law enforcement in line with
  Regulatory Reform.
• Some omissions in previous code
• Reflect changes in EU law.

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Food Law Code of PracticeIntroduction

• Main changes
• Section 4 Interventions
• Risk rating of approved establishments
• Enforcement arrangements at primary level
• Revised food registration form
• live bivalve molluscs permanent transport
  authorisation
• fishing vessel hygiene checklist

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Food Law Code of PracticeInterventions

• activities (by the local authority) which are
  designed to monitor, support and increase Food
  Law compliance within a food establishment.
• Divided into
• Official Controls
• Other interventions

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Official controls

• Regulation (EC) 882/2004
• Lays down general rules for performance of
  official controls
• Introduced to improve consistency
• Official controls should be
• Carried out regularly
• On a risk basis
• With appropriate frequency

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Regulation (EC) 882/2004

• Official Control
• any form of control that the competent authority
  performs for the verification of compliance with
  food law

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Official controls

• Official controls should take account of
• Identified risks
• FBOs past record
• Reliability of own checks
• Any information that might indicate
  non-compliance.
• Should be unannounced
• Flexibility to pre-arrange visits where
  necessary.
• For example some audits.

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Official Controls

• Inspections
• Audits
• Sampling
• Monitoring
• Surveillance
• Verification

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Official ControlsInspections

• the examination of any aspect of feed,
  food,animal health and animal welfare in order to
  verify that such aspect(s) comply with the legal
  requirements of feed and food law and animal
  health and welfare rules

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Official ControlsAudits

• The systematic and independent examination to
  determine whether activities and related results
  comply with planned arrangements and whether
  these arrangements are implemented effectively
  and are suitable to achieve objectives.

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Official ControlsSampling

• Taking . food or any other substance
  (including from the environment) relevant to the
  production, processing and distribution of
  food. in order to verify through analysis
  compliance with food law..
• Official control if
• Submitted to official control laboratory.

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Official ControlsMonitoring

• Conducting a planned sequence of observations
  or measurements with a view to obtaining an
  overview of the state of compliance with food
  law..

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Official ControlsSurveillance

• The careful observation of one or more food
  businesses, or food business operators or their
  activities

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Official ControlsVerification

• The checking, by examination and the
  consideration of objective evidence, whether
  specified requirements have been fulfilled

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Other interventions

• Advice
• Education
• Coaching
• Information
• intelligence gathering

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Monitoring form

• Inspections/audits
• Verification/surveillance
• Sampling
• Advice/education
• Information/intelligence gathering

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Selecting Interventions
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Selecting Interventions

• Intensive regulation should be directed by Food
  Authorities at those food businesses that present
  the greatest risk to public health
• those that are compliant with Food Law should
  be subject to interventions that reflect the
  level of compliance that has been achieved by the
  food business operator.

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Selecting interventionsStrategic approach

• Intervention strategy should
• Recognise factors influencing non-compliance
• Consider risks resulting from non-compliance
• Focus on outcomes/outputs not inputs
• Seek to secure compliance with food law
• Top down approach
• Centrally set
• Bottom up approach
• Local control

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Selecting interventionsFactors influencing
non-compliance

• FSA funded research
• Robin Fairman, Kings College
• Different types of non-compliance
• Inability to recognise own non-compliance
• Lack of management controls
• Wilful non-compliance

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Selecting interventionsBarriers to compliance

• Lack of
• Knowledge
• Interest
• Skill
• Money
• Time

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Selecting interventionsRisks resulting from
non-compliance

• Need to match interventions to causes of
  non-compliance.
• High risk business/low risk of non-compliance
• Audit of systems
• Sampling
• Medium risk business/high risk of non-compliance
• Inspection
• Medium risk business/low risk of non-compliance
• Verification
• Low risk business/low risk of non-compliance
• Minimal (if any) intervention

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Selecting interventionsMeasuring outputs
Inputs
LA Returns
Inspection
Processes
Training
Training levels
Compliance
Output
Interventions
Outcomes
Reduced Food poisoning
IID Surveillance
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Selecting interventionsMeasuring outputs

• Best to measure outcomes
• Difficult in practice
• IID data unreliable
• IID multifactorial
• Less desirable to measure inputs
• No data on effectiveness
• Process measurement unreliable
• No strong link between training and reduction in
  IID
• Output measurement
• Measurable improvement in compliance with law
• Not perfect

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Selecting interventionsFactors influencing
compliance with food law
Awareness of legal requirements
Technical ability to identify non
compliance/relate requirements to own business
Managerial motivation to identify non-compliance
Technical ability to identify necessary changes
to achieve compliance
Managerial ability, resources and motivation to
implement changes
Managerial ability to monitor and review changes
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Food Law Code of Practice Interventions
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Broadly Compliant

• No more than 10 in Hygiene, Structure or
  Confidence in Management scores

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Broadly Compliant
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Broadly Compliant

• FSA Strategic Plan
• 75 food businesses fully compliant by 2010.
• Full compliance
• Score 0/5 for confidence in management.

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Official control decisions

• Officer should record
• Type of official control selected
• Justification for this

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Factors influencing decisionPromoting food law
compliance

• Targeted assessment of compliance
• Influencing behaviour of FBO
• Change bad practice
• Endorse good practice

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Factors influencing decisionCompliance Code

• Should only adopt a particular approach if the
  benefits justify the costs and it entails the
  minimum burden compatible with achieving their
  objectives.

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Factors influencing decisionCompliance Code

• Regulatory efforts should be targeted where they
  would be most effective by assessing the risks to
  their regulatory outcomes.

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Factors influencing decisionCompliance Code

• Greatest inspection effort focused on businesses
  where risk assessment shows that both
• a compliance breach or breaches would pose a
  serious risk to a regulatory outcome and
• there is high likelihood of non-compliance.

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Factors influencing decisionCompliance Code

• Reward businesses that have consistently
  achieved good levels of compliance.

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Factors influencing decisionEffective use of
resources

• More resource available for failing premises

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Alternative enforcement strategies

• Research suggests
• Commonly used
• Preferred method
• Questionnaires
• Other methods
• Business forums
• Use other inspectors
• Random inspection
• Advantages
• Contact with low risk businesses
• Targeting of resources
• Disadvantages
• Reduced face-face contact
• Administration

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Information capture
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Information capture

• Essential that sufficient information
• Collected
• Recorded
• Retained
• To permit
• Monitoring
• Subsequent selection of intervention.

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Communicating with businesses

• Interventions should seek to influence behaviour
  of FBO
• Change bad practice
• Endorse good practice
• Explanation of
• Type of intervention
• Why specific intervention selected.

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Selecting InterventionsWorkshop
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Case 1
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Changes to Risk Rating

• Only permitted following
• Inspection
• Audit
• Partial inspection/audit

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Changes to Risk Rating

• Where new information arises about premises
• justified complaint or poor sampling result
• Should consider whether an inspection, partial
  inspection or audit is appropriate,
• which may lead to a change of both the
  intervention rating and appropriate intervention
  choice.

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Internal monitoring of interventions

• Monitoring should include
• Adherence to the Food Authoritys planned
  intervention programme
• Priority given to interventions with businesses
  according to Intervention ratings
• Compliance with the Code of Practice, the
  Practice Guidance and other Agency guidance
• Consistent assessment of Intervention ratings
• Appropriate use of relevant inspection forms
• Compliance with internal procedures, policies and
  the Food Authoritys Enforcement Policy
• Interpretation and action taken by officers
  following an intervention is consistent within
  that Food Authority and is consistent with Agency
  and/or LACORS guidance
• That officers are aware of and have access to
  other published industry codes of practice
  relevant to the businesses within the area of the
  Food Authority
• That officers have due regard to published UK or
  EU Guides to Good Practice

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Service Planning
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Purpose of service planning

• Identify
• Objectives of food service
• Links with corporate and national priorities
• Demands on service
• Resources required
• Partnership working
• Target
• Resources to meet stated objectives.
• Communicate to
• Members
• Staff

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Communicating with elected Members.

• Food Law Code of Practice
• Promotes
• Effective use of resources
• Facilitates
• Use of resources to meet local and national
  priorities
• Permits
• Transfer of resources to areas requiring
  intervention.

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Service planning workshop
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Fulchester Council

• Population 98,929
• 885 food businesses
• 8 FBOs non-English speaking
• Turkish
• Polish
• Chinese

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Corporate Priorities

• 1)  Make a positive local contribution to
  tackling the causes and effects of climate change
  
• 2)  Enhance the vitality of Fulchester town
  centre
• 3)  Give priority to involving and meeting the
  needs of young people
• 4)  Achieve a cleaner, smarter and better
  maintained 'Street Scene' and open space
  environment
• 5)  Promote, encourage and provide opportunities
  for healthy living
• 6) Enhance the lives of the elderly.

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Service aims and objectivesFulchester Council

• Ensure that all food intended for human
  consumption that is manufactured prepared or sold
  in the District complies with food safety
  requirements
• Undertake programmed inspections of food
  businesses in accordance with minimum levels
  specified in the Food Law Code of Practice.
• Advise and educate consumers, businesses and
  other service users on food safety matters.
• Promote food and health issues generally
• Investigate and take appropriate action on all
  complaints relating to food safety matters
• Carry out a planned food sampling programme

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Food business profile 2007/08Fulchester Council

• Category A 18 (8)
• Category B 57 (32)
• Category C 303 (318)
• Category D 122 (135)
• Category E 291 (237)
• New businesses 89 (81)
• Approved establishments 5 (6)
• Total 885

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Food business profile 2007/08Fulchester Council

• Based on historical data
• 62 category C premises Broadly compliant with
  food law.

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Enforcement activitiesInspections 2007/8

• Category A 24
• Category B 48
• Category C 278
• Category D 94
• New businesses 42
• Approved establishments 12
• Total 498

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Enforcement activitiesSampling and
advice/education

• 246 Micro samples taken
• 12 adverse results
• 6 SFBB seminars held
• 2 in Turkish
• 1 in Cantonese
• 3 in English

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Fulchester Food Team
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Ensuring Consistency
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Where can inconsistencies arise?
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Consistency strategies

• Training
• Monitoring

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Summary

• Food Hygiene Interventions
• Focus on achieving compliance in food businesses.
• Broadly compliant businesses
• Less invasive interventions
• Target resources
• Less compliant businesses

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Questions?