Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Advice Cakemakers
IMAGE: The Orkney Islands Council logo appears above the title. The cover also shows baking ingredients and equipment, including flour, milk, eggs, butter, sugar, spices, a rolling pin, and a whisk.
Introduction
If you are handling or preparing food at home for sale or supply to the public, you are legally considered to be a commercial food business. As a commercial food business, you must register your business with us and comply with the relevant food hygiene, food safety, labelling and compositional laws. One of these laws is that you have a documented food control management procedure, which must be based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP). This may sound like a difficult task, but essentially it is a written procedure which shows how, at all stages of production, from purchase and receipt of goods through to storage, baking, packing and then selling, you ensure that the foods are kept safe.
How to use this guide
This guide is designed for businesses making and selling low risk cakes and bakes from a domestic premises. It sets the basic foundations of a HACCP based food control management system upon which the food business operator should add their own processes, procedures and/or information, where necessary. This will tailor the document to each individual business and create ownership for the business.
To use the guide, you should read each safety point and then complete the adjacent box with your safe method, remembering to add your own. Blank boxes are available at the end of the document. Any records you are keeping, such as temperatures, batch codes etc, can be documented in a diary such as a standard desk diary, notebook or a computer document.
Labelling
This document does not detail the various labelling requirements, as there are different legal requirements depending on how you sell your product. For instance, from an honesty box on your own land, direct to a retail shop, online, to order etc. It is your responsibility to label your goods correctly and you should detail the type of labelling and how you label correctly in this document.
However, generally speaking, if you are selling your products from your own honesty box, your goods will be classed as Prepacked for Direct Sale (PPDS). Information on how to label your goods as PPDS can be found on Orkney Islands Council website and also here:
Guidance_on_the_Labelling_of_Food_Sold_Prepacked_for_Direct_Sale.pdf (foodstandards.gov.scot)
Please contact the Environmental Health team on the details below if you require further information and guidance on the various labelling requirements.
env.health@orkney.gov.uk or by calling: 01856 873 535 – ext 2801
How to complete
All food businesses are required by law to have a documented food safety management system in place to show how they are producing safe food. You should examine each safety point in turn and complete the right hand column of the table to indicate how you, as the business operator, will ensure that the food you produce is safe. Ensure that you consider any additional hazards specific to your business, for example if you also make jam, and add these procedures accordingly.
Monitoring
Some aspects of your food preparation will require monitoring, for example ensuring your fridges are running at a temperature below 8°C. Where you need to record information, a simple daily diary will suffice.
Traceability
Where you sell products to other businesses, you must, by law, be able to trace the goods sold to them. This is important if the need for a product recall occurred, either through an error that you have made or by one of the ingredients you use being unsafe and recalled. Creating a traceability system can be simple with minimal record keeping. For instance, batch codes placed on the end product which refer back to ingredients and the date of production date could be the durability date. Whatever system you use, you must document your procedure in your food control management system. Here is a link to a quick reference guide to traceability: Food traceability - Quick reference guide
Business Overview
| Name of Business: | |
| Address from which business ordinarily operates: | |
| Name of business owner/food business operator: | |
| Date first completed: | |
| Completed by: | |
| Review Date: (This document should be reviewed every year and amended when necessary, particularly if you start making a new product or use new methods of preparation) | |
| Customers: (eg own honesty box, Individual customers to order, market/fair, internet sales, retail shops, wholesale, other) | |
| Description of cakes/bakes made: |
IMAGE: The business overview form contains blank fields for the business name, operating address, business owner or food business operator, completion and review dates, customers, and a description of cakes or bakes made.
Safety point: Cross Contamination
| Why is it critical to food safety? | What I do to meet this safety point: |
|---|---|
| Food handlers should wash their hands thoroughly in a designated wash hand basin in the food preparation room, using hot water and antibacterial liquid soap, before commencing work, and after handling potentially contaminated foods such as raw eggs/ raw meat/ raw vegetables/ fruits/ salads. Hands should be thoroughly washed after visiting the toilet, cleaning, emptying the rubbish bin, touching your hair or face etc. | |
| Clean aprons or clean clothing should be changed into prior to starting work. Dirty overalls or clothing can contaminate food with anything from bacteria to pet hairs. | |
| Hair should be tied back and excessive jewellery should be removed prior to commencing work. Loose hair can contaminate food, jewellery can trap dirt and bacteria and can also fall off into food. | |
| Food handlers who are ill or have been unwell within the last 48 hours should not handle foods. This includes symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting or colds/flu. Some illnesses are contagious and can be passed on to customers through handling food. You should make sure that anyone who handles food has been symptom free for 48 hours before resuming work. | |
| Where finished products are stored in the fridge, raw meats should either be stored elsewhere or covered on the bottom shelves of the fridge to prevent cross contamination. Finished products and ingredients should be kept covered whilst in storage and during transit. Finished products should be boxed or wrapped in fresh, clean, non toxic, food grade packaging. | |
| Fresh raw salads/fruits/vegetables must be washed thoroughly before use (particularly where they are to be eaten raw). These foods are grown outside, often in the ground, and could have soil/fertilizers/bird faeces on them. All these can contain bacteria sufficient to cause illness. |
IMAGE: The cross-contamination safety table has a column for food-safety reasons and a blank column for the business’s own procedures. It covers handwashing, clean clothing, hair and jewellery, illness, storage of raw meats and finished products, and washing raw produce.
Safety point: Cleaning
| Why is it critical to food safety? | What I do to meet this safety point: |
|---|---|
| Domestic pets should be removed from the food preparation area before commencing work. Animals can carry potentially dangerous bacteria which could contaminate work surfaces. Their hair/fur can also be a source of contamination. | |
| Domestic kitchen equipment and surfaces must be thoroughly cleaned and sanitised prior to use. Bacteria from raw meats or unwashed vegetables can contaminate work surfaces, fridges and equipment, which can then spread onto food being prepared (eg cakes). | |
| Specify the type of cleaning chemicals used. Reusable cloths should be changed regularly and washed at a hot temperature (boil washed). Alternatively single use, disposable cloths/paper towels may be used. Bacteria can easily survive and spread from cleaning cloths onto food or work surfaces. | |
| Check your working area for anything (particularly very small items), that could drop into your products. Food could become physically contaminated, posing a risk to customers. | |
| Fridge shelves must be cleaned regularly. Fridge shelves can become contaminated with bacteria. This can easily pass onto hands and other products stored in the fridge. | |
| The kitchen must be generally clean and tidy, with no evidence of pests such as rodents or insects. Pests can contaminate foods and ingredients. Attention should be paid to cupboards where dry goods such as flour are stored as these foods may attract pests. Dried food ingredients are best kept stored in airtight lidded containers. |
IMAGE: The cleaning safety table has a column for food-safety reasons and a blank column for the business’s own procedures. It covers removing pets, cleaning and sanitising equipment, cleaning chemicals and cloths, preventing physical contamination, cleaning fridge shelves, and pest control.
Safety Point: Chilling/temperature control
| Why is it critical to food safety? | What I do to meet this safety point: |
|---|---|
| Please specify the different types of food that you make. | |
| Raw egg products, such as some chocolate mousses and cheesecakes, should be avoided (unless you can demonstrate how you are making them safely). Products made with uncooked or lightly cooked eggs can carry Salmonella bacteria which can cause food poisoning. | |
| Ingredients requiring chilled storage (such as dairy items) must be kept in the fridge (You should have some method of being able to monitor the temperature of the food in your fridges to ensure they are at or below 8°C). NB: If you are only monitoring the air temperature of the equipment (ie the fridge) then it should be between 0-4°C. | |
| Bacteria can survive and grow in foods of this type if they are not properly refrigerated. This then has the potential to cause food poisoning. Indicate how often you will check your fridge/food temperatures and where these will be written down. | |
| If you are working on a market stall and have high risk foods that require refrigeration (such as cream cakes or cheesecakes) you must have suitable refrigeration available to store them. This will include cool boxes with ice packs or portable refrigerators. How do you check the temperature is okay? NB: High risk foods can be kept unrefrigerated for a single period of 4 hours during service (providing they have been kept under refrigeration during storage and transport). If you are relying on this exemption, you must be able to demonstrate what time the food was first put out. If you are working on a market stall and supply open foods, such as cake slices that are not pre-wrapped, you must take along a supply of hot water and cleaning materials for hand washing and equipment. Facilities for hand washing will enable personal hygiene to be maintained. |
IMAGE: The chilling and temperature-control safety table has a column for food-safety reasons and a blank column for the business’s own procedures. It covers the types of food made, raw egg products, chilled storage temperatures, temperature monitoring, and refrigeration and handwashing arrangements at market stalls.
Safety Point: Other
| Why is it critical to food safety? | What I do to meet this safety point: |
|---|---|
| Catering premises should be using good quality, fresh, Grade A eggs. Lion marked eggs are from flocks that have been inoculated against Salmonella and are recommended. Ungraded eggs can be from flocks at risk of avian diseases and Salmonella which can contaminate eggs and foods produced with them. | |
| Allergens such as nuts, some dairy products, additives, preservatives and other additives should be used in specific batches and care should be taken to avoid contaminating other foods. Some people have severe allergic reactions to allergens and cross contamination must be avoided. | |
| Where foods are prepared in large quantities and then stored, you should have some method of being able to identify their shelf life. Usual methods include date labels. Shelf life guidance: High risk refrigerated foods, day of production + 2. Home frozen foods – 1 month | |
| Stock rotation will ensure that foods beyond their use by dates are not consumed. | |
| If you package food yourself, you must ensure that you use packaging that is suitable for food use. Suitable packaging will be marked 'for food contact' or have a symbol on it that looks like a wine glass and a fork. | |
| In order to label your goods correctly, you must check which requirements are relevant to you as labelling rules vary depending on how you are selling your goods (direct to the final consumer, through a retailer) and how you are selling, (from your own shop, online). | |
| Glitters, dusts and additives such as food colourings. You must make sure that these are edible, suitable for food use in the UK. |
IMAGE: The table includes the food-contact symbol, showing a wine glass and fork. The surrounding guidance covers egg quality, allergens, shelf life, stock rotation, food-safe packaging, labelling requirements, and edible food decorations and colourings.
Safety Point: Other
| Why is it critical to food safety? | What I do to meet this safety point: |
|---|---|
| Any decorations used must be safe to use with food (colours etc don’t leach out), safe to eat, and do not cause a choking hazard. | |
| Keeping your customers safe and protecting their health is essential so attention must be made to any complaints received. Check back to see where things went wrong and if mistakes were made, actions should be put in place to prevent it happening again. | |