A food safety management system helps you to manage and document food safety procedures to comply with food hygiene law.

This system should be based on food safety practices that you are familiar with and follow the Food Standard Agency's (FSA) - Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)

The level of documentation required will depend on the nature and size of your business.

If you are a small to medium sized business, we recommend managing your food safety using the Food Standard Agency's - Safer Food Better Business food safety management system.

Many larger companies and organisations choose to write their own food safety management system, they typically have access to food safety experts.

The SFBB Food Safety Management System is:

• Aimed at smaller food businesses who may find it more difficult to implement a full HACCP system
• A straightforward way to help you put in place a food safety management system based on HACCP, as required by the law
• Based upon 4 Cs (cooking, cleaning, chilling and cross contamination). 
• Two versions - one for caterers and one for retailers
• Caterers pack has been adapted for small catering businesses such as restaurants and takeaways that serve either Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan cuisines

Please note: when carrying out a food hygiene inspection, we need to see that you are documenting your food safety to comply with food hygiene law. Please make sure you are using it, maintaining records and have it available on the premises to show during an inspection.

SFBB food safety management system will help you to:

• comply with food hygiene law
• show what you do to make food safely
• train staff
• protect your business's reputation
• improve your business
• improve your food hygiene rating scheme score

The following SFBB food safety management packs are available on the Food Standards Agency (FSA) website for you to print out yourselves for free:

• FSA - small catering businesses (cafe's, restaurants, takeaway's etc...)
• FSA - small retail businesses (newsagents, grocer's etc...)
• FSA - childminding businesses
• FSA - care homes (to be used with the pack for caterers)
• FSA - Indian cuisine
• FSA - Chinese cuisine in English
• FSA - Chinese cuisine in Cantonese 

We offer complete SFBB packs, with diary, for caterers for a moderate price: Lancaster's SFBB for caterers  delivery is only available to businesses operating within Lancaster City Council boundary.

• Lancaster City Council - SFBB Managing an Active Rodent Infestation (PDF, 577KB)
• Chichester DC - Bed and breakfast businesses
• Chichester DC - Vacuum packing
• CEHOGNI - HACCP for butchers

You can use the relevant SFBB packs above to record your food safety management system. You should remove any sections that aren't relevant to your business. You should carry it with you when you are trading. If you are Inspected a Food Safety Officer would expect to see it and you could be scored lower under the FHRS if one isn't available. 

Further information:

 National guidance for outdoor and mobile catering (CIEH) (PDF, 860KB) 

Handwashing advice for mobile caterers, market traders and other mobile food vendors (PDF, 1.5MB)