09 Jan

EC Numbers, now know as UK Approval Codes!

Picture this: You have a commercial butchery business and your customer base is growing faster than you thought.  Excellent News!

However, soon after that customer base has grown, you are told by either your EHO from the Council; and/or the Veterinarian officer from the FSA (Food Standards Agency) that you cannot continue to trade as you have been doing, happily supplying your new customers, until you have a UK Approval Number, which means you have to be passed and registered as an approved premises.  In short, you have to satisfy the requirements of Regulation EC  853/2004. Since leaving the EU, the legislation governing this requirement is the same, only the name has changed.

The above law surrounding UK Approval Numbers is strict and necessarily so.  This legislation was introduced following the meat fraud incidents and is robust to prevent this kind of fraud happening again.

One of the main requirements to gain an UK Approval Number is to have individual HACCP plans in place for all your product lines.  This is one the clauses that the enforcing authorities are the most strict to enforce.  Some enforcing authorities now are even insisting that draft HACCP plans are created before you have even installed your production lines to operate your new business.

HACCP Answers can help!  We can work with you to create draft HACCP plans to satisfy the EHO and/or FSA’s requirements at any stage that they require them.  By creating your draft HACCP plans using HACCP Answer’s services, your new business will not be held up from opening by having to rush these plans when you are wanting to open and trade.