What Is Due Diligence in Food Safety?

Food safety and hygiene is one of the most important considerations that businesses in the food industry need to make. While food safety legislations as a whole play a pivotal role in ensuring that food safety is heavily regulated across the industry, there are individual components of these laws that are each important in their own right. One of these components is the concept of due diligence. 

With approximately 154 thousand food service businesses operating in the UK, and the food and drink sector in Great Britain employing 3.7 million people in 2022, food organisations and employees must be aware of all aspects of their operations to ensure that they comply with food safety standards and legislation. Without considering these standards, such as the need for due diligence in food safety, businesses are not taking the necessary steps to pinpoint and mitigate food safety hazards, which ultimately puts the health of their consumers at risk. 

In this article, we aim to simply explain the concept of due diligence in food safety to help you understand why it’s important and how it can be demonstrated by a business. We also delve into the important part it has to play in food safety legislation to protect all consumers and ensure that food businesses continue to thrive across the country.

What is Due Diligence in Food Safety? 

Due diligence in food safety pertains to businesses being able to prove that they have done everything in their power to comply with regulations and legislations relating to food safety and hygiene. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, due diligence is “the care that a reasonable person exercises to avoid harm to other persons or their property.” Thus, it’s imperative that food businesses and all of their employees take all necessary precautions to prevent any serious food safety incidents from taking place. 

When referring to these necessary precautions, this means any actions that employees can reasonably make in order to protect themselves and others from serious incidents by mitigating food hygiene and safety hazards. 

Due Diligence and Food Safety Law: What Businesses Need To Consider 

In the UK, there are several pieces of food safety legislation that any business working in the food industry needs to comply with. In England, Scotland, and Wales, the most important and primary legislation pertaining to food safety is the Food Safety Act 1990, which provides the framework for all food legislation in these countries.

Due diligence in food safety is a key component of UK food safety legislation, and it was in the early 1900s that it was first considered in a legal respect. Now, food businesses can be at risk if they do not consider due diligence while operating in the industry. If a customer were to fall ill after consuming a meal prepared by a food business, or a food product produced by a food manufacturer, they could potentially take legal action against the organisation.

So, when asked what is the main defence under food safety law, the answer is simply due diligence. A due diligence defence, under the Food Safety Act 1990 legislation, is the main way that businesses can prevent themselves from being legally liable, and suffering the consequences of serious legal action, if they are involved in a food safety incident. 

The due diligence defence works to protect consumers’ health and safety and to sufficiently sanction businesses who may not be taking food safety and hygiene seriously. Additionally, the due diligence defence also protects and maintains businesses' rights when they can evidence they’ve taken reasonable action to reduce food safety hazards. 

For businesses to have a due diligence defence, they must have:

• Had no belief or suspicion that any actions they have taken in their work environment would lead to facing an offence in line with food safety legislation 
• Not had an employee or person who wasn’t part of their business act in a way which led to a food safety offence being committed
• Have performed the necessary actions or taken essential precautions to protect any food being manufactured, served, or sold to consumers, and have evidence of this

Why is Due Diligence in Food Safety Important for Your Business to Consider?

Previous research found in Great Britain that adults eat out an estimated 2.4 billion times every year across the country, as reported by roughly 70,000 food businesses. This is why it’s of pivotal importance that businesses not only understand the concept of due diligence, but also understand how due diligence in food safety protects the wellbeing of those that are most important to them - their consumers. 

Cases have been recorded of customers suffering from illnesses that they have developed or caught as a result of consuming food from UK eateries and manufacturers. In some more serious cases, people have even died. So, your actions as a business can have severe negative repercussions on your customers’ health and wellbeing. 

Not only this, but the implications of company’s who are not acknowledging the importance of due diligence in food safety for their business can be severe. As previously mentioned, if a consumer was to take legal action against a food business because they became sick or unwell after consuming their food, this can result in the business suffering from serious legal and financial repercussions. If the business in question cannot prove that it has done everything within its reasonable power to reduce food safety hazards, these repercussions could include having to pay fines for breaching the Food Safety Act, or even facing sentences in prison. 

What Can Be Done To Prove Due Diligence in Food Safety? 

The primary way that food businesses can demonstrate that they have due diligence in food safety is by keeping an up-to-date and thorough record of their food safety procedures and management. All actions regarding minimising food safety hazards should be well-documented and easily accessible. This is because if a business needed to show that they’ve considered due diligence, it should have all the evidence it needs of the actions within reasonable power that have been taken to protect people from food safety incidents. 

These procedures should be conducted in line with HACCP - the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point - a standardised and systematic preventative approach to food safety implemented to reduce food safety risks to a safe and manageable level. By taking a HACCP approach in line with FSA guidelines, food businesses are able to identify food safety risks, identify the control points, and implement actions to reduce these risks while recording them for future reference. Not only this, but working in line with HACCP can in itself importantly demonstrate that businesses have implemented all reasonable actions to efficiently minimise food safety risks in a workplace.

Utilising food safety due diligence checklists can be a successful and standardised approach to protecting the wellbeing of consumers. These checklists consider critical aspects of minimising food safety risks, including proper cleaning procedures and controlling for pests. By using these checklists as part of a business’ regular food safety procedures, this can be a useful tool to evidence due diligence in food safety. 

When it comes to storing your checklists and keeping track of all food safety due diligence actions, many businesses choose to keep a digital record of this. However, keeping paper-based records is fine too. But, whichever storage method you choose for your due diligence food safety records, make sure that they are accessible and stored safely for when you may need to retrieve them. 

Is Food Hygiene Training Critical to Understand Due Diligence in Food Safety?

To understand due diligence wholly, it is advised that food businesses undergo the necessary food hygiene courses to maintain a safe working environment for producing, serving, or storing food. The level of food safety and hygiene training required by a business depends on the type of business and the type of food being handled, produced, or sold. A brief overview is as follows: 

• Level 1 Food Safety Training: Required by staff working in a food retail environment or food production business who deal with wrapped or low risk foods, so they have the basic knowledge of food safety and hygiene procedures. 
• Level 2 Food Safety Training: Anyone working in a food retail environment, in food manufacturing, or catering where food is handled, prepared, or cooked. This is often recommended to have a core understanding of the importance of food safety and hygiene.
• Level 3 Food Safety Training: Undertaken by managers, business owners, or supervisors who are working in a food business. This provides a more detailed understanding of food hygiene and safety than a level 2 training course, taking into consideration the additional responsibilities these parties have.

Without adequate food hygiene training, customers are not fully protected from food safety risks and hazards, which can put businesses at risk of serious reputational and financial repercussions. 

At Virtual College, we offer food hygiene training courses for a range of industries, including RoSPA assured and CPD certified training suitable for both organisations and individuals. 

FAQs

Can Food Handlers Be Prosecuted?

Anyone that is involved in the handling of food needs to ensure that they are doing this in an appropriate way that aligns with both due diligence and food hygiene requirements. In serious cases where this is not done, this can be classed as a food hygiene offence and a person may be fined or even prosecuted for their wrongful or neglectful actions. 

Who Is Legally Responsible For Food Safety In A Store?

Employers of shops and stores that handle and sell food have a responsibility to ensure that their staff receive the necessary food hygiene training. Employees have the responsibility of ensuring that they act in accordance with their food hygiene training as well as legislation and requirements to protect all customers. 

What Is The Principle of Due Diligence? 

The predominant principle of due diligence is to act with a particular standard of care in order to ensure no adverse impacts are felt by people, employees, or anyone else involved with a business. 

Summary

Due diligence in food safety is an essential part of food business operations to ensure that all food produced, manufactured, and distributed to customers is done so in a way that protects consumers and considers all necessary food safety legislation accordingly.

We hope that this article has shed light on what due diligence in food safety is to help you better understand it, its importance, and how you can prove it. 

Our Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene course covers all of the latest UK food safety and hygiene training requirements. It offers a comprehensive understanding and practical knowledge of food safety and hygiene standards as well as food law, the principles of HACCP, and more.