Blue skies and green crops welcomed a team from the Food Standards Agency to PDM’s site in Shropshire last October. PDM’s Technical Director Tariq Shaikh explains: “This was a proactive visit and it was great to meet the team behind the FSA. The aim of the visit was for the FSA to understand the activities and processes involved in being a ‘grower packer’. “I think the FSA team were surprised with the scale of the farming operation and enjoyed watching the harvesting and packing of whole head iceberg lettuces. “From speaking with the FSA, I learned that a lot of […]

  Fluctuations in food supplies can lead to use of spot buying. This needs working to preagreed protocols and careful monitoring to ensure compliance with agreed standards of food safety and quality. CFA’s new Spot Buying Protocol is now available as a free download from the CFA website and is applicable to all purchasers of fresh produce that is intended to be RTE.

CFA Members’ commitment to health and safety is again evidenced by the Association’s influential involvement in a revised food industry worker safety strategy. The Health and Safety Executive’s Food and Drink Manufacturing Forum’s (FDMF), ‘Common Strategy for Improving Health and Safety in the Food and Drink Manufacturing Industry 2021- 26’ is an HSE initiative to engage with trade bodies and unions in the food manufacturing sector to enhance worker safety. This latest version contains revisions suggested by CFA, including specific details that help implementation. It also includes a call for greater leadership involvement in H&S issues and monitoring the legacy […]