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CONSULTATION ON PROPOSED CHANGES TO NUTRITION LABELLING, COMPOSITION AND STANDARDS LAW

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities have launched a consultation on proposed changes to nutrition labelling, composition, and standards (NLCS) retained EU law.

The nutrition and health claims regulations ensure that claims made about a food or drink are accurate and not misleading so that consumers can make informed choices to meet their lifestyle and nutritional needs.

This consultation sets out 2 proposals:

· reforming nutrition and health claims enforcement in England by introducing an improvement notices regime.

· removing redundant tertiary legislation that approved or rejected health claims.

We would encourage members to review the consultation and respond as applicable.

The consultation will run for 12 weeks, closing at 11:59pm on 31st October 2023 and can be found here.

Responses are welcomed online, by email or by post.

DAERA ADVISE ON REGISTERING FOR THE COMMON HEALTH ENTRY DOCUMENT OPERATOR PORTAL (CHOP)

In preparation for the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme (NIRMS) replacing STAMNI on 1st October 2023, DAERA have developed a new database called CHOP (CHED Operator Portal).

Traders currently moving goods from GB to NI will be familiar with CHED terminology – Common Health Entry Document which is the prenotification process on TRACESNT for consignments of SPS goods entering NI from GB.

CHOP has been designed specifically for the benefit of NI Traders to ease the movement of SPS goods between GB and NI. In relation to the NI Retail Movement Scheme it will offer significant benefits including the streamlining of:

· Monitoring consignment status

· Completion of channelling returns

· Large document/photo uploads

All these are accessible without the need to go directly to TRACES NT.

Future enhancements are planned that will further streamline pre-notification processes.

CHOP registration will immediately bring benefits to NI traders using the NI Retail Movement Scheme and potentially traders moving SPS consignments between GB and NI outside the scheme in the future.

Who needs to register?

The person creating the CHED must register for CHOP. This could be the NI importer, agent and/or haulier. Only one person from each company needs to sign up to CHOP initially and they can then add more people from within their organisation when registered.

How can a Trader register?

Please send an email to: portal.aos@daera-ni.gov.uk providing the details outlined below to facilitate registration:

· Company Name

· The email address used to create your existing Government Gateway account. Current UKGOV Guidance on creating a Government Gateway account is available here.

· One unique Company Identifier as per current TRACES NT operator record, for example: (please specify which you are using)

· National Company Number

· Vat Number

· EORI Number

· Operator Internal Activity ID

· Operator Activity ID

· National Registry Number

· An email address which will be used to send CHED related communications to (channelling etc).

Once this is received and your information has been processed by DAERA you will be sent a confirmation email which will enable you to sign into CHOP here.

Once signed in the CHOP user guide will be available on the CHOP home page and can be accessed here.

COLD CLAD LIMITED

Cold Clad Limited are a leading Temperature Controlled specialist installation contractor based in Tewkesbury.

They specialise in the design and build of insulated and fire rated construction projects in the UK and Europe, working with a wide variety of industries offering insulated internal construction, firewalls & fire rated enclosures, single envelope design and external building envelope cladding & roofing.

Over the last 3 years, the UK has experienced and overcome many challenges and Cold Clad have been at the forefront of supporting and working with their expanding client base. ‘Work You Can Trust has always been at the heart of everything we do’ explains Founder and Director Jon Pitman. ‘Our focus is always on meeting and exceeding client expectations which promotes repeat business’ he adds. The culture within the business is very much people focused and empowers individuals to strive and achieve their goals which is great news for everyone. ‘We want to be not only a business that people want to work with but a business that people want to work for’.

Due to substantial growth in the chilled and frozen food sector and an increase in number of employees to manage the workload, the business realised they needed to move to larger offices to ensure they could manage their continued business growth. Moving is never an easy task but if there is one thing Cold Clad is used to managing is challenging situations. Fortuitously, a solution presented itself which enabled the whole process to become easier, not easy.

Tewkesbury is ideally situated for quick and easy motorway access to regions across the country. It is also a central location to many of the companies’ employees who live in the surrounding areas. Their new office at Western House is just off junction 9 off the M5 and just around the corner from their previous office. ‘It was critical for our business to find larger office space in the local area to retain our most valued asset, the skill set of our employees’ advised Tony Harrold, Cold Clad’s Managing Director, ‘whether they have been part of the Cold Clad Team for 6 months or 16 years good people are the most difficult/valuable resources to find, and we are fortunate to be surrounded by talent. Our relocation in May 2023 tripled the floor area we previously occupied and has enabled us to provide enhanced ‘group working’ spaces along with ‘individual’ quiet offices. We boast several kitchens and a breakout/games room where staff can congregate throughout their busy day away from their desks to discuss matters inside and outside of work. We are very sociable as a company who promote flexible working when needed along with wellbeing support, on the job training and ongoing career opportunities.’

Cold Clad’s belief is that along with new offices, even more new opportunities will come. Cold Clad are a diverse, forward-thinking company with a ‘can do’ attitude. There are 6 divisions currently under the Cold Clad’s mantle which all complement each other and there are plans to increase this as these new opportunities arise.

Sales Director Colin Baker has been with the business for over 10 years and has observed the business going from location to location and from strength to strength. ‘We never stop’ says Colin, ‘we have a great relationship with our customer base and often get involved in several different packages on single projects, which is great. We can offer as much or as little on each project depending on what the client needs.’

No project is too big or too small. Cold Clad has an ethos that everyone matters. The Director responsible for the largest food industry project Cold Clad are proud to be involved with this year is Richard Tassinari. The project for food giant Danish Crown has an investment of over £100m and Cold Clad are creating a 30,500sq.m processing facility in Rochdale. ‘To be involved in such as large-scale project is both challenging and rewarding’ states Richard.

The business is totally aware what hard work looks like. Many of the accounting and commercial operating systems were upgraded last year to ensure accurate project and financial reporting. General Manager Anya Webster mentions ‘upgrading old and implementing new systems is essential, but costly and time consuming. The benefits of ‘getting it right’ have been realised with our monthly project tracking and reporting. It was well worth all the hard work’.

‘Last year was another fantastic result for the business’, reports Ian Welton, the companies most recently appointed Director who is responsible for Finance. ‘It is so good to be part of a success story in difficult times. I firmly believe it is because of the joint effort of all employees and strong leadership from the management team’.

It is clear from what has been said that the core values of integrity, honesty and financial security & a strong staff focus, drives Cold Clad forward with a vision shared and owned by the employees and with involvement at every level.

Cold Clad would like to thank British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF) for taking an interest in the most recent development in their developing success story. If you would like to talk to us about a project you are considering, please email us info@coldclad.com

The Control of Explosives Precursors and Poisons Regulations 2023

New substances will be regulated under The Control of Explosives Precursors and Poisons Regulations 2023 from 1 October 2023

What are these regulations?

Many common substances utilised within detergents and disinfectants can be re-purposed as poisons or to create homemade explosive devices such as those used in the Manchester Arena and Parsons Green attacks. Since 2021, legislation has been in force across the EU and Northern Ireland to control the sale and supply of these substances and from 1st October 2023 Great Britain will be following suit.

Will I still be able to source these products?

Yes, however in order to comply with these regulations you must verify the legitimacy of your use with the supplier through a request for information on your business and an authorised person on site (including a photographic I.D.) for products containing regulated substances.

What are the products?

In general, substances present in hygiene products fall into two categories: –

Regulated Substances Reportable Substances
Hydrochloric acid above 10% w/w Potassium hydroxide above 17%w/w
Hydrogen Peroxide above 12 w/w Sodium hydroxide above 12%w/w
Nitric acid above 3% w/w Sodium hypochlorite above 6%w/w available chlorine
Phosphoric acid above 30% w/w Hydrogen Peroxide above 2% w/w
Sulphuric acid above 15% w/w  
Oxalic acid above 10% w/w  

 

What are my responsibilities?

Take all reasonable steps to control and manage the stocks held on your site and restrict access to only those authorised persons.

For both products containing either Regulated or Reportable substances, any suspicious activity must be reported to the “Report Suspicious Chemical Activity Service” and significant disappearances or thefts of these products to the Police on 0800 789321 within 24 hours.

As part of your supplier’s conditions of sale, they will be required to collect the following information for any product formulation containing Regulated substances prior to supplying you – this information must be collected every 18 months:

  • Business name, address and nature of business
  • VAT number (if VAT registered)
  • Name of authorised person and job title
  • Photo I.D. of the authorised person.

 

This statement will be required for each delivery address so must be completed on a site-by-site basis. Please be aware that without this Customer Statement being fully completed the supplier cannot, and will not, supply products containing Regulated substances.

Where can I go for further information?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supplying-explosives-precursors

Mental Health Top Priority for New Health and Safety Alliance

Nine UK health and safety organisations have come together to form the Occupational Safety and Health Stakeholder Alliance, which aims to support good practice and encourage progress on health and safety issues.

Mental health will be an immediate area of focus for the alliance, which claims the UK is “less well advanced” than many EU nations in preventing and supporting employees with mental health issues.

“The consequences of this go far beyond the direct impact on individuals and their employers, including an already-stretched NHS,” the organisation said.

“An early priority for the alliance will be to prioritise, identify, develop and implement measures to equip the [occupational safety and health] profession to more effectively mitigate the risk factors giving rise to mental health issues in the workplace.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Stakeholder Alliance (OSHSA) said it expects to provide a unified voice for the industry, and inform and support the creation of government and business health and safety policies.

It also aims to increase the visibility of the health and safety profession and the role it plays in achieving business objectives.

In May, seven organisations – the British Occupational Hygiene Society, British Safety Council, British Safety Industry Federation, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, International Institute of Risk and Safety Management, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents – signed a memorandum of understanding to create OSHSA .

Two further organisations – the National Examination Board for Occupational Safety and Health and the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors – have joined more recently.

Although Britain’s health and safety record has improved overall, there was a 10% increase in work-related deaths in the year to March 2023. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) the industries with the highest deaths were construction; agriculture, forestry and fishing; manufacturing; and transportation and storage.

Personnel Today
August 2023

Updated load safety code of practice launched by DVSA and HSE

DVSA have worked with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and industry stakeholders to publish an updated code of practice on load security.

It will help vehicle operators, drivers and those involved in the loading of a vehicle to understand their responsibilities when transporting different loads and how to make them safe.

 

The code of practice replaces all other load security guidance previously published on GOV.UK.

You can view the Code of Practice: Safety of Loads on Vehicles on GOV.UK.

Member Benefits

Exclusive Partnership deals on key products and services:

  • BFFF energy deals and rates
  • Vypr member deals and introduction
  • Defib Plus deals
  • Company Shop – membership
  • Mentor – MHE training health check

Exclusive access to networking opportunities and events:

  • Meet the Buyer events (retail & foodservice)
  • Annual Business Conference with networking dinner
  • Specialist H&S and Technical Conferences
  • Special interest groups (packaging, frozen food temperatures)
  • Annual Lunch
  • Awards Night
Upcoming Events More Events
Sponsorship Packages

We offer a range of sponsorship opportunities to BFFF members across our events throughout the year, with flexible packages that can be tailored to suit your business objectives.

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what our members say...
  • Wakefield Council

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    “I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for the outstanding event you organised. I have only worked in this sector for the past nineteen months coming from twenty-five years…

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    “Thank you and the team for rushing around so brilliantly before, during and after the conference. It was pleasure to be part of the conference.”

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    “The event was great, in my opinion. Not only it was very well organised, but the venue and the catering were excellent too. Furthermore, the content of the presentations was…

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