Factors Constraining The Implementation Of Hazard Analysis In Small And Medium Sized Food Businesses In The London Borough Of Camden

Regulation 4. (3) of the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995
introduced a HACCP based food safety management system known as hazard
analysis into UK food safety legislation. During the period of the research the
regulation was revoked and replaced by Article 5 of Regulation EU 852/ 2004 which
introduced a similar but more stringent requirement. Such food safety management
systems introduced descriptive legislation into food safety legislature and were a
distinct departure from the long established command and control prescriptive
legislation.
The research had three main purposes. The first was to assess the constraints that
hindered the implementation of food safety management systems within small/
medium sized (SME) food businesses. The second was to identify the main motivator
amongst food business operators (FBOs) for the implementation of food safety
management systems within their food businesses. The third purpose was to
determine an optimum compliance model, in terms of enforcement and support that
the London Borough of Camden (LBC) as the food authority could introduce to
maximise the uptake of HACCP based food safety management systems within SME
food businesses of the study populations.
The research established that constraints existed that hindered the implementation of
food safety management systems. The constraints reflected the general shortcomings
amongst FBOs in relation to their capacity to understand HACCP based concepts
and their unwillingness to implement a concept that they generally considered alien
to them.
The research further established that the uptake and implementation of HACCP
based food safety management systems was increased by the food authority
providing practical assistance and support in the form of an Intervention Project.
Such support focused on the implementation component of the food safety
management system with the analysis component playing a subordinate role.In a deregulatory climate where legislation is likely to be introduced which will result
in the enforcement powers of food authorities being significantly curtailed. A
cooperative educational approach by the food authority in the achievement of
regulatory compliance will be an increasingly viable option as a tool to facilitate the
implementation of HACCP based food safety management systems within SME food
businesses.