The following new legislation received in recent months:

The Food Safety & Hygiene (England) Regs 2013.

The document is largely an update of the 2006 Regulations. The section on Due Diligence defence is expanded and there is a new section on defence relating to exports. There are new clauses relating to the special health mark required for emergency slaughter, amendments due to the Official Feed and Food Controls Regs 2009, the Food Safety (Sampling and Qualifications) Regs 2013 and the Trade in Animals and Related products Regs 2011. There is a new Schedule 7: Derogations relating to low throughput establishments (slaughterhouses).

The Contaminants in Food (England) Regs 2013

Continues with limits for Erucic acid in Oils plus other contaminants.

The Food Additives, Flavourings, Enzymes and Extraction Solvents (England) Regs 2013

More focus on smoke flavourings. All previous regs revoked.

The Fruit Juices & Fruit Nectars (England) Regs 2013

Revokes all previous regs. Indication required if extra pulp added.

Country of Origin Labelling for meats of swine, sheep, goats & poultry EU 1337/2013

Requires labelling of slaughter and rearing regions.

List of authorised smoke flavourings EU 1321/2013

It is quite a short list.

This month we celebrate yet another long service landmark. Our lovely Office Manager, Lynne-Marie Ellis has been with the firm an incredible 20 years this month. Lynne-Marie was the first member of staff we took on when we opened the Market Drayton office and I could not have imagined then that she would become such an important member of the team and still be with us 20 years on. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with her and we would not be the same company without her.

Thank you Lynne.

We celebrate yet another member of staff reaching the 10 year mark. Jeremy Tozer joined us as an auditor in 2003 and has given us a decade of great service carrying out audits all over the UK Europe and Turkey. We all benefit from Jeremy’s positive input into our meetings and he is always introducing new ideas for improving auditor efficiency. Some of them we actually manage to do!

So thank you Jeremy and here’s to the future starting with the forthcoming BRC conference in Amsterdam where Jeremy will be representing us this time.

PS notice how we managed to colour co-ordinate his gift with his shirt.

 

Ron Kill September 2013

Who would have thought it? Certainly not me when I offered my son James a “temporary” job here 10 years ago. So it is especially wonderful for me to announce James as yet another member of the team joining the 10 year club. That makes 6 members (7 with me!) with another on the way soon. Anyway here is James receiving his small gift having just put up with a moderately embarassing speech from me.