HACCP is not just good practice. It is a legal requirement for almost every food business, from a small café to a large factory.

As a manager, you need to understand what the law requires, who enforces it, what powers inspectors have, and how good records protect your business if something goes wrong.

In this module you will learn about:

• The main food safety laws.
• The legal requirement for HACCP.
• Who enforces food law.
• Enforcement action and penalties.
• The legal duty to train staff.
• Due diligence.

In Ireland, food businesses must comply with European Union food law, which applies directly:

• Regulation (EC) 178/2002, the General Food Law, which sets out the principles of food safety and traceability.
• Regulation (EC) 852/2004, on the hygiene of foodstuffs, which includes the requirement for HACCP.
• Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, on food information to consumers, including allergens.

These are given effect by Irish regulations and by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998.

Article 5 of Regulation (EC) 852/2004 requires food business operators to put in place, implement and maintain a permanent procedure, or procedures, based on the HACCP principles.

• The procedure must be kept up to date, and reviewed whenever the business changes.
• It must be supported by documents and records that suit the nature and size of the business.
• The law allows flexibility. A small business with simple processes can use a simpler, pre-prepared system, as long as it controls the hazards.

In Ireland, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, or FSAI, is responsible for the enforcement of food law.

• The FSAI works through official agencies under service contracts.
• Environmental health officers of the Health Service Executive inspect most caterers, retailers and smaller food businesses.
• Other agencies, such as the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, local authority vets and the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, cover meat, dairy, fish and other specialist premises.

Authorised officers can enter food premises at any reasonable time, inspect, take samples and photographs, and examine HACCP records. Where they find problems, they can:

• Serve an Improvement Notice, requiring work to be done within a set time.
• Apply for an Improvement Order from the court, if a notice is not complied with.
• Serve a Closure Order, closing all or part of the business where there is a serious risk to public health.
• Serve a Prohibition Order, stopping the sale of a product.

Breaking food law is a criminal offence. On conviction, a business and its managers can face heavy fines and, for the most serious offences, imprisonment.

Enforcement orders are also published on the FSAI website and reported in the media. The damage to a business’s reputation can be greater than the fine.

Regulation (EC) 852/2004 also requires food business operators to make sure that:

• Food handlers are supervised, and instructed or trained in food hygiene to a level that suits their work.
• The people responsible for developing and maintaining the HACCP procedure have received adequate training in the HACCP principles.

This course helps you meet that second requirement. Training records should be kept as evidence.

If a business is accused of a food safety offence, its main defence is due diligence: showing that it took all reasonable precautions, and exercised all due diligence, to avoid committing the offence.

Due diligence can only be proved with evidence. That means a documented HACCP system, complete and accurate records, trained staff, and full traceability of the food.

If it is not written down, an inspector or a court may assume it was not done.