EU plans registration for all food businesses
Food premises of all sizes - from food factories and restaurants to hot dog stands - face compulsory registration and detailed record-keeping under new proposals from the European Commission.
Trade associations have warned that the regulations, which could come into force within four years, will bury firms under more red tape and could lead to closures.
Each registered company will have a unique number that will follow its products along the food chain to ensure that all food and ingredients can be traced.
In order to trade, food operators will also have to meet strict hygiene standards. The commission wants all food businesses to adopt a harmonised hazard analysis system, although there will be help for smaller operators.
Food firms will be expected to keep detailed records of food and ingredients and of safety checks such as fridge temperatures.
The Federation of Small Businesses said it would lobby for the 500,000 small traders it estimates would be affected by the plan to be exempted from the requirements. The paperwork involved could cost small firms between £200 and £1,000 a year.
Restaurant Association chief executive Ian McKerracher also feared the proposals would "add a huge administrative and time burden that small businesses can ill afford."
But the British Hospitality Association, which supports registration for all food firms, suspected most of its members already complied with the proposals, including keeping records of their hazard analysis procedures.
The Food Standards Agency argued that the proposals should make businesses more efficient and lead to fewer and shorter visits from environmental health officers.
The proposals were announced last week by the European Commissioner for health and consumer protection, David Byrne. They are designed to replace 17 existing directives.
by Angela Frewin angela.frewin@rbi.co.uk
Internet link
