Hygiene Standards in the Chilled Food Industry

Food safety is the number one priority of the chilled food industry and UK manufacturers operate to stringent hygiene standards and practices, many of which have been developed in the UK and are promoted worldwide by CFA. Food safety requires the application of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles to the design of plant, product and process, the management of hygiene procedures and the control of the process. All CFA members commit to comply with CFA’s Best Practice Guidelines for the Production of Chilled Foods which are widely recognised as the benchmark for best practice in the chilled food industry.

In addition to complying with food safety and hygiene legislation, CFA members also comply with CFA’s ‘Guidance on the Practical Implementation of the EC Regulation on the Microbiological Criteria for Foodstuffs‘ which was developed in conjunction with the British Retail Consortium, to help food businesses understand the requirements of the EC Regulation 2073/2005.

To complement this guidance CFA also published ‘Microbiological Testing and Interpretation Guidance‘ which sets out how microbiological testing fits into HACCP, where sampling should take place and how data should be interpreted and acted upon. Compliance with these Guidance documents is mandatory for all CFA members.