across [a multi-site] business also ensures that team members can be moved to any section or site and automatically be conversant with food safety and other tasks. Multiple venues can also take advantage of integrated technology, where building an interconnected network of different products can deliver more impact. “For instance, an operator could take


several Access Hospitality solutions, such as Trail, CPL Learning and Procure Wizard, which all provide different components of food safety compliance, but together, create a solid digital operating manual.” But where technology really trounces paper records is during a visit from the environ- mental health officer, because it provides a historical record of all activity, time- and date- stamped, with photos and comments attached, making everyone is accountable and ensuring operators can prove compliance. And if some- thing isn’t right, it will create a record of the measures taken to illustrate that the right cor- rective action was taken. “They can also provide evidence to EHOs


who might be suspicious if it appears that every day is problem-free,” says Magesh. “After all, getting a five-star food hygiene rating isn’t about never having problems, it’s about how you handle them and providing evidence to show that you did.” She adds that the value of technology


stand the importance of food safety and have done the necessary food safety and hygiene checks. But if they are doing the wrong thing in front of customers, not working hygieni- cally because they don’t realise the importance, nor asking the right questions or responding correctly on something as critical as allergen control, you will be found out quickly. Hygiene awareness is hyped nowadays. People don’t want to eat in a place that isn’t clean – and that is not solely about the food preparation prac- tices in the kitchen.” Magesh agrees: “Choosing technology to sim-


plify your food safety processes minimises any potential for human error, and training should be the starting point so that team members have a good understanding of what their respon- sibilities are and why they matter,” he says. Hospitality learning and retail training pro-


Paying the price


In England and Wales, Crown courts may sentence food safety offenders to prison for up to two years and/or impose unlimited fines. Magistrates’ courts may impose a fine of up to £5,000 per offence and/or a prison sentence of up to six months, but for certain offences, they can impose a fine of £20,000 for each offence. In Scotland, the Sheriff court has a maximum sentence of 12 months and there is a statutory maximum fine of £10,000. For more information, visit www.food.gov.uk


www.thecaterer.com


vider CPL Learning integrates with other tech- nology solutions so it can be introduced at the onboarding stage, ensuring staff are equipped with the right skills from day one. It also offers different learning styles to suit operator and individual team member needs. The soft- ware includes the food and safety compliance courses you would expect, including HACCP to Level 3, COSHH in a food environment, food safety and allergen management.


FOLLOW THE RULES


While food safety technology is suitable for any business, including independent outlets, it is arguably even more beneficial for multisite operations where consistency, reporting and accurate record-keeping are more challenging to achieve. Magesh says: “Using technology


is being recognised by regulatory bodies, citing that Access’s Trail App has an assured primary authority partnership and is approved by EHOs for its record keeping: “Integrating EHO-approved templates and completing daily tasks demonstrate that your business is HACCP-compliant, without reams of paper- work,” says Magesh. “It also enables operations to be scaled without scaling costs, as the tem- plate is easily introduced across multiple sites. Our HACCP software monitors processes to avoid potential irregularities in relation to food storage, handling, production and preparation to provide peace of mind, head office visibility, business protection and a safe environment.”


PAPER TRAIL


With the tightening of regulations around allergies, many operators are using labelling technology, with some of the best technology now creating legible, high-resolution ingredi- ent and allergen labels with prices, barcodes and use-by dates. “This protects your customers’ health and


your reputation in the process. You can also cut wastage and inefficiency, printing mul- tiple label designs from one roll, all without the need for inks or toners,” says Simon Bren- nan, senior end user client manager SPS at Brother. “Labelling technology for pre-packed foods make it easy to keep everybody informed and ensure you’re complying with food label- ling regulations like Natasha’s Law.” But while the argument for food safety tech-


nology is a strong one, the message is that training needs to be robust. As Barnes says: “With staffing being such a difficult issue, technology might help – not to replace staff, but to make sure they are as well-equipped as possible to manage food safety efficiently.”


Technology Prospectus 2024 | 31


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