Winchester Food Businesses to benefit from free Food Safety Training
Food businesses in Winchester are set to benefit from additional food safety training after Winchester City Council has secured funding from the Food Standards Agency to enhance its existing work within the district over the next 2 years.The project is part of the Government's 'Safer Food Better Business' Programme which allowed a bid for funding to be submitted by a consortium of Hampshire-based local authorities led by the City Council.
Over the next 2 years the £58,000 received will pay for a food safety advisor to visit premises and work with businesses on their food preparation and storage practices. The results of the project are to be evaluated as part of a national project to consider whether this new approach is successful and can complement the more traditional enforcement options currently used by food safety staff in the UK.
Announcing the funding, Councillor Jim Wagner, the City Council's Portfolio Holder for Health said, "I am delighted that we have been chosen to lead this work locally. This project is a perfect addition to our existing approach to food safety within the district. For many years we have worked with businesses to help them achieve improvements but we cannot be everywhere all the time.
"The funding received will allow us to provide additional support for the district which ultimately can only lead to further improvements over the next few years" he added.