Council food workshops inspired by NASA

FOOD standards developed by NASA to protect the health of astronauts in space were the order of the day at recent workshops carried out by Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

FOOD standards developed by NASA to protect the health of astronauts in space were the order of the day at recent workshops carried out by Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

Held during March, three workshops invited local food businesses to gain a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) qualification free of charge.

They looked at identifying potential hazards and putting processes in place to control the risks.

Environmental health's commercial manager Kate Watts, said: “The HACCP system was developed on the 1960s to ensure that food eaten by astronauts while they were in space was safe. Imagine getting food poisoning when you are up there.

“HACCP became part of health and safety legislation in 1996, but since 2006 European regulations have stated that documentation has to be kept by all food businesses.

“The sessions we ran were well attended and for two of them we provided Portuguese or Cantonese translation, to give more people the chance to gain the qualification.

“In particular more than 30 delegates attended the Cantonese translation workshop, which was extremely pleasing to see.”

To learn more about how the council's environmental health team can help with food safety or health and safety issues call 01493 846478.