Welcome to the Play it Safe campaign pack

Welcome to the Play it Safe campaign pack

FSA Play it Safe Campaign Pack Why we need your help The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is working to protect consumers from any food safety problems during the 2012 Games. You ve received this pack because you can help us to share important messages about food safety in the run-up to the Olympics. We are committed to making London 2012 the best ever Games for food. We are offering extra support and training for food businesses and will be carrying out additional inspections over the coming months. We re also offering advice to visitors so they know what to look for when buying and eating food. This pack contains information and resources that you can use to help us ensure that the food people eat is of the highest standard. You might be an organisation that works with caterers, or a company that will look after visitors to the Games. You can play your part in helping both food businesses and visitors to Play it Safe. What s in this pack? p2. What is Play it Safe? p3. Key messages p4. Online resources p5. How you can get involved in Play it Safe p8. Frequently asked questions p10. How to contact us 1

FSA Play it Safe Campaign Pack What is Play it Safe? During the Games, the Food Standards Agency has been tasked with protecting consumers from any food safety problems. Giving businesses and visitors the information they need about how to comply with food safety regulations, and what to look for when buying and eating food, will be crucial in achieving this. We will be sharing stories with the media, running a Play it Safe Twitter feed, distributing leaflets and working with organisations like yours to help communicate these messages. More about the FSA s work during the Olympics The Play it Safe campaign is running in conjunction with a variety of other initiatives during the 2012 Games, including a food safety coaching programme for food businesses and providing support for local authorities to help them with inspections. More about the FSA The FSA works year round to ensure the highest possible level of food safety. We are the government body responsible for managing incidents affecting any stage of the food chain. We also provide advice on how to report, respond to and prevent food safety incidents. 2

Key messages These are the main messages we want to share with businesses and visitors through Play it Safe. The main thing we want to tell everyone is to play it safe at the Games ensure that food bought, cooked and eaten is safe! For food businesses The Food Standards Agency is playing its part in making sure that food served during London 2012 is the best it can be. This summer, the UK will welcome the world. It s more important than ever that the food you sell is safe, so there will be more food hygiene inspections over the coming months. The Games are a great business opportunity for food businesses resist the temptation to cut corners on food safety. It is your responsibility, and a legal requirement, to meet food hygiene regulations. For visitors The FSA is playing its part in making London 2012 the best Games ever. There will be more inspections in the run-up to the Games to make sure the food you eat is safe. Some businesses display a green and black Food Hygiene Ratings Scheme sticker, which tells you more about their food safety. For more information see www.food.gov.uk/ratings Take a closer look when buying food. If you can t see a hygiene rating sticker, take a look at the staff and the premises do they look clean? If food is out on display: Is cold food kept refrigerated? Is raw food separated from cooked food? If you ve ordered something hot, is it hot and cooked all the way through? If you have doubts about any of these things, try somewhere else! 3

Online resources Information on food safety at the 2012 Games from the FSA can be found at www.food.gov.uk/olympics Here you can find: A link to this pack Monthly newsletters, with updates on the campaign Other resources and guidance on food safety, including the Safer Food Better Business guidelines Facts and figures about the Olympics and food safety New content will be added to the site in the run-up to the Games. We ll also be sending our monthly newsletters direct to your inbox (if you have agreed to receive them). 4

How you can get involved in Play it Safe In your newsletter or on your website If you have an area on your website or a newsletter that is read by food businesses or Games visitors, you could post details of the campaign that will direct them to useful information. For example: For businesses During this summer s Olympics, the UK will welcome the world. It s more important than ever that the food on sale is the best it can be, so there will be more inspections over the coming months. Visit the Food Standards Agency website at www.food.gov.uk/olympics to find out more about the help and support available for your business. For visitors Play it safe at the Games. Take a closer look when buying food. Are the premises clean? Is food properly stored? If you ve ordered something hot, is it hot and cooked all the way through? If in doubt, try somewhere else. Find out more at www.food.gov.uk/olympics 5

How you can get involved in Play it Safe On social media Do you or your organisation have a Twitter feed? If so, you could post a reminder to your followers about food safety during the Games period. Play it safe during the Games ensure your food is the best it can be. Visit food.gov.uk/olympics or follow @playitsafefood London 2012 is getting closer. Make sure you re playing it safe with your food. Visit food.gov.uk or follow @playitsafefood If your organisation has a page on Facebook, you could send a quick and easy message to the people who like your page. Are you a food business in an Olympic area? There s help available to make sure the food you sell is the best it can be. Visit www.food.gov.uk/olympics for a reminder of food regulations, tips, advice and more information about the extra inspections taking place Play it safe with food at the Games. Take a closer look when buying and eating food. To find out more visit www.food.gov.uk/olympics 6

How you can get involved in Play it Safe Media Share your story We re always looking for examples of food businesses and organisations that are playing their part in ensuring that food bought, cooked and eaten during the Games is safe. If you have a story to tell and you wouldn t mind sharing it with the media, let us know. Our contact details are at the end of this document. Send out a press release You could send out a press release to let people know you re supporting Play it Safe, using this as an opportunity to share messages about food safety during the Games. Contact us if this is of interest and we can help you with it. 7

Frequently asked questions Why is the Food Standards Agency running a campaign on food safety in the run-up to the Olympics? The Olympics is the defining event of 2012, and with such a huge increase in visitor numbers and meals served, we need to ensure that proactive steps are taken to protect consumers. The FSA is responsible for food safety throughout the UK, and is working with food businesses and enforcement officers to help ensure the safety of food served during the Games. Isn t food safety compliance always important? Why is more activity happening now? Ensuring the highest possible level of food safety compliance continues to be a priority, but it will be even more important than usual during the Olympics. Risks to food safety will be heightened because of the volume of food that will be bought and sold. Local authorities are putting more resources into improving the standards in premises with low compliance levels, especially where footfall is expected to be high during the Games. The FSA is supporting local authorities through grant funding for additional inspections. The increase in inspections is also partly a reflection of the number of additional food businesses setting up to cater for visitors to the Games. What else is the FSA doing in preparation for the Olympics? We re running a food safety coaching programme for food business operators in need of improvement, who have been put forward by their local authority. We are also working on an outbreak control plan with the Health Protection Agency, and have carried out simulated incident-based exercises involving local authorities and other organisations. We are supporting local authorities to ensure food safety compliance in several ways, for example by providing training for new food safety officers, and refresher food safety audit courses for existing environmental health officers. We are providing extra food sampling equipment and storage containers for seized food. Finally, we are working to ensure the safety of products entering the supply chain from smaller suppliers, who will provide food to the contract caterers within the Olympic venues. Continued... 8

Continued... Frequently asked questions What will the FSA s role be in the event of a food safety incident? The Food Standards Agency is the central government body responsible for managing incidents affecting any stage of the food chain. Incident investigations will continue to be a key part of our work during the Olympics. We provide advice on how to report, respond to and prevent a food safety incident, as well as carrying out monitoring and planning work, and we work closely with other government departments to ensure planning is in place to deal with any food safety issues that might arise. All relevant information about the FSA s role and how we work with food businesses is at www.food.gov.uk/olympics. Interesting facts and figures There are Olympic venues in 11 towns and cities, and 22 big screens broadcasting all the action. The FSA has given 100 probe thermometers to local authorities to increase the number of food temperature checks. We ve also purchased 150 hygiene monitoring units, which can instantly tell inspectors about the level of bacterial contamination on surfaces. There are 1,957 environmental health officers working across the UK. 9

FSA Play it Safe Campaign Pack Contact us If you have any questions or want to know more, please contact Hollie Rendall or Elizabeth Porter at Kindred - the PR agency that is working with the FSA on the Play it Safe campaign - on 020 7010 0829/0851. 10