Changes to Legislation

The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 will (major provisions) come into force on the 6th April 2008. This will have major implications for a wide range of companies and organisations including NHS Trusts, some charities and the Police. Currently, “a directing mind” has to be identified in relation to liability for an offence. This results in very few successful prosecutions, particularly of larger organisations – as recent rail disasters testify. The new legislation will make individuals within organisations arguably more accountable.

The Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2005 came in to force from January 2006. They have impacted upon caterers particularly, but also upon retailers. They require that food safety management systems based upon HACCP principles are in place. These must be proportionate to the nature and size of the business.  Compared with the requirements pre-2006, they additionally require businesses to have documentation and verification of their systems.  Additional recent legislation requires traceability of foods, an area of particular concern to wholesalers and allergen labelling on pre-packed foods.

BRC Successes

Congratulations to Mr Ian Goldstein and everyone at L Goldstein Smoked Salmon, Unit 2, 3 Lowther Road, Middlesex, who have again successfully retained their BRC (global standard) accreditation (March 2007)

Congratulations to Mr Martin Dewey and everyone at Square Pie Ltd, 378 Mentmore Terrace, Hackney, on their expansion into new retail outlets and the sale of their pies in Sainsbury's stores (March 2007)

Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Suguro Iino and everyone at Yakitori King, Wembley, Middlesex, who gained BRC (global standard) accreditation for the first time in October 2005 with our consultancy help and who have maintained the accreditation annually since