Evaluation of a simplified approach in food safety management systems in the retail sector: A case study of butcheries in Flanders, Belgium and Lancashire, UK

The EFSA BIOHAZ panel published a scientific opinion proposing a new approach in food safety management, adapted to the needs of small retail businesses such as grocery, butcher, bakery, fishmonger and ice cream shops. The opinion is aiming at a more hands-on development and maintenance of their food safety management system, based on prerequisite programs and hazard analysis critical control point-principles. In this paper, the added value of the EFSA opinion is evaluated by comparing requirements with existing legislation and applied guidelines relevant for butchers, and to assess perceptions about introduced changes by this opinion for small independent butcheries in Flanders, Belgium and in North-West England, UK as a case study. Results show that the conditions for flexibilities, as stated in the EFSA opinion, could lead to difficulties in interpretation among Member States. Also, the hazard analysis approach applied in the two main UK guides to good practice appeared to be similar to the simplified approach proposed by EFSA. For Belgium, the main difference is that in the Belgian guide to good practice hazards are ranked and critical control points are identified for the preparation and selling of fresh meat, minced meat and meat preparations. The specification of prerequisite programs and related activities in the EFSA opinion can be an important step towards harmonization among EU Member States. Assessing the perceptions of ten UK and ten Belgian butchers revealed that the hazard analysis approach and the thirteen prerequisite requirements proposed by EFSA, are generally positively experienced by the butchers. However, the introduction of the proposal ‘Monthly microbiological tests’ to verify cleaning and disinfection activities is rejected by all the Belgian butchers and by the majority of the UK butchers. This proposal will not ease their job and the necessity of these tests should be reconsidere