Safety barriers
With new legislation putting food safety practices into focus, Caterer takes a look at the challenges it could pose for smaller outlets.
You might know of the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) principles, but how much does every level of your kitchen staff really understand about the practice behind the acronyms?
“I only learnt what HACCP was through my training to be a food safety trainer,” said Shaina Oakden, UAE franchise coordinator and food safety trainer of sandwich chain Subway (for more on Subway in the Middle East see p29).
Having worked in the food industry for many years and with Subway for eight years in the UK, HACCP can be something of a mystery even to management level staff according to Oakden.
It was only on her entrance into the GCC that she was made formally aware of it: “Although I was already implementing HACCP-style principles in the kitchen, I never actually used to know what the technical word was,” she said.
This year Abu Dhabi made it a legal requirement for all food service businesses to implement a food safety system based on HACCP principles by the end of 2011.
A systematic approach to food safety that addresses physical, chemical, and biological hazards as a means of prevention rather than finished product inspection, HACCP is a trade requirement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and has been a requirement for all food businesses except farmers across the European Union (EU) since 2006.
While Abu Dhabi is the first emirate to specifically require HACCP implementation in all food service businesses, awareness is widening across the whole region as food safety becomes increasingly important; Dubai’s Person In Charge (PIC) food safety initiative is required to be implemented by the end of 2011, while Sharjah has been working intensively on a four-year programme to make Sharjah a safe environment for food.
It has become such a hot topic that the UAE is considering a new federal law to harmonise food safety practice across all of the emirates, said Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, UAE minister of environment and water, at the sixth Dubai International Food Safety Conference.
Bin Fahad emphasised that it is the internationally recognised nature of systems such as HACCP that is central to the UAE’s new food safety legislation: “We are not simply introducing a law for the UAE, but one that is compatible and in harmony with international laws,” he said.
With rising food prices meaning food safety is even more crucial, it has never been more pressing for restaurant staff at every level to fully understand what HACCP means.
Space race
First conceived in 1957, HACCP’s roots in the space industry go some way to explaining why the principles might be slightly beyond the comprehension of some kitchen staff.
“HACCP first came about around 50 years ago when NASA needed food that astronauts would be able to consume at zero-gravity, but which would also be safe,” said Professor Joanne Taylor, lecturer in business operations at Salford University.
The methodology was then filtered down for use in the food manufacturing industry. “On the surface it wouldn’t seem to be that complicated; effectively it’s risk management, enforced by document keeping,” according to Taylor.
“But when you then lift that up and put it into food service it suddenly becomes extremely difficult to maintain. Food service is a much more variable, constantly changing environment and chefs are creative people; it is far less rigid than manufacturing.”
While large hotels might have the budget and ability to send managers on long and often costly HACCP training programmes run by consultancies, this is out of the question for many smaller outlets.
In addition, passing on the training to the other members of staff can pose an insurmountable challenge to many trained managers: “A few years ago I was involved in the HACCP qualification for a large hotel in Dubai and it was an absolute mission to teach the lower level staff about Critical Control Points,” said Dan Clayton, general manager of Stars’n’Bars in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island.
“Some of them seemed to struggle to understand far more basic concepts of even personal hygiene, let alone danger zones and traceability.”
Oakden found a similar situation when she was first charged with the responsibility of ensuring staff in every Subway franchise were fully HACCP-trained.
“The biggest hurdle we faced was ingrained staff behaviour and attitudes,” said Oakden. “We found staff were running on automatic, used to doing the same things they do everyday and not being proactive.”
Simplifying safety
With a background in psychology, Oakden realised that attempting to impose lofty-seeming food safety principles from the top-down would not cultivate lasting understanding. “We wanted to change our staff’s habits, which is psychologically a very difficult thing to do,” she said.
New teaching systems with an emphasis on behavioural techniques informed by psychological insights claim to be able to break down these learning barriers.
Subway has pioneered one such programme, named Menu Safe, and has seen some staggering results, according to Oakden.
Of the 25 stores that have begun the Menu Safe implementation process, three have completed it so far. One of those stores, situated in Al Ain, twice received 100% in its food safety inspections, something which Oakden said is “unheard of”.
This is despite the fact that inspectors are “incentivised to find inconsistencies,” according to Dave Shannon, operations manager of TSI international, the company that distributes the Menu Safe programme.
Oakden was keen to emphasise that the two occasions of 100% results were also achieved under two separate managers, something which credits the system for its effectiveness, rather than simply the effectiveness of the person in charge.
Some unexpected results have also stemmed from the new teaching system, as staff members have not only consistently maintained food safety practices but become proactive in wanting to improve them.
In particular the food safety passport that comes with the Menu Safe package has been embraced: “We included the option to stick your photo in the passport, but to be honest we only did it as a bit of a gimmick,” said Taylor.
“But we’ve found that about 90% of the people using the Menu Safe system tend to use it. For some of the people using the system this is the first formal recognition of learning that they have ever had, so it’s quite profound.”
The move to codify HACCP within the kitchen is welcomed by most chefs, who recognise that sharing responsibility is a necessity in order for food safety systems to work: “It will help us,” said Joe Vock, executive chef of the Taj Hotel in Dubai.
“In hotels the owner is first and foremost responsible, then the general manager and then the chef, and you need to be able to prove that you have done everything the right way. This will make sure that everyone is carrying some of that responsibility.”
As food safety increases in global importance and in terms of legislation, simpler systems of food safety that break down barriers to learning look set to thrive: “Education needs to extend to the entire food handling team and I welcome the idea of a more simple and efficient model of learning,” said Star’n’Bars’ Clayton.
He would like to see even more food safety regulation from the government: “The authorities need to consistently enforce, regulate and supervise the entire food chain, from supplier, through to production, to waiter and table top.”
Food safety facts
• More than 200 diseases are spread Through Food
Millions of people fall ill every year and many die as a result of eating unsafe food. Diarrhoeal diseases alone kill an estimated 1.5 million children annually, and most of these illnesses are attributed to contaminated food or water.
• Foodborne diseases are increasing Worldwide
Disease-causing organisms in food are transmitted far and wide by today’s interconnected global food-chains - escalating how often and where foodborne illnesses occur.
• Emerging diseases are tied to food Production
About 75% of the new infectious diseases affecting humans over the past 10 years were caused by bacteria, viruses and other pathogens that started in animals and animal products. Many of these diseases in people are related to the handling of infected domestic and wild animals during food production - in food markets and at slaughter houses.
• Chemical hazards through cooking can Contaminate food
Acrylamide, which may cause cancer, is formed from natural ingredients during the cooking of some foods at high temperatures (generally above 120 °C), including fried potato products, baked cereal products and coffee.
Source: World Health Organisation.