After a court ruling, all manufacturers that change their Food Business Operator (FBO) – in effect the entity responsible for meeting food law requirements – since 2006 must reapply for a company approval number, said an Food Standards Agency (FSA) spokesman. A change in FBO includes instances where a manufacturer's name can change such as when a company has been taken over or have been bought out of voluntary liquidation, amongst others.
“The ruling applies to all approved establishments, such as slaughterhouses, fish processing establishments and game handling establishments, whether or not the nature of their business has changed,” according to a statement on the FSA’s website.
Approval number
Previously, companies had to apply for a new hygiene legislation approval number only when they changed premises or the type of production at their site, a spokesman told FoodManufacture.co.uk.
The FSA will implement the judgement on January 31, 2012 and companies that changed ownership between 2006 and that date have to reapply for an approval number. They should be able to keep their current approval number if sucessful.
Companies reapplying should be granted full approval if compliance with legislation is demonstrated, said the spokesman adding that those that need improvements may be granted a three month temporary approval that can possibly extended to six months.
Costs to companies should be minimal, said the spokesman. "The food business operator may need to spend time with the authorised officer if there is an on-site approval visit and prepare papers and plans of the business for the officer to consider. There may also be costs relating to changing product labels if, as result of the approval, a business has to change its approval number," he explained.
The changes came into effect after a judicial review in March 2010 of a 2008 legal case heard at Lincoln Magistrates' Court between Roland Saldanha, md of Allan Rich Seafoods, and West Lindsey District Council.
Judicial review
The judicial review followed a decision to destroy about 200t of fish at a facility owned by Saldanha that had traded under three company names following voluntary liquidation of the first two companies. Only one hygiene approval number had ever been obtained.
The judicial review judgement ruled that ‘establishment’ does not simply mean ‘premises’ but is directly linked to the business occupying the premises. According to the FSA: “Establishment denotes both premises and the manner in which those premises are being used by the food business operator.”
The agency has also written to other relevant enforcement authorities throughout the UK to advise them of the new rules.
Businesses that have changed ownership since receiving approval, and those that do so in the future, should inform the authorities as soon as possible, said the FSA spokesman.