What does due diligence mean in food safety? (2024)

Posted on 27th September 2022

What does due diligence mean in food safety? (1)

What does due diligence mean in food safety?

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

It is a legal requirement that anyone who produces, distributes or sells any food products must comply with food hygiene regulations. As part of this, being able to demonstrate that you are compliant is very important. There is no point in being 100% compliant if you cannot demonstrate to an inspector that you are. At the very worst, what if something were to happen that is not in your control, but because you can’t demonstrate your compliance, you end up liable? Not a great thought, is it? In this blog, we will take a look at due diligence and explain what it means and how you can demonstrate it.

Table of contents

  • What is due diligence?
  • What legislation covers food safety?
  • How do I prove due diligence?
  • Food Safety Training
  • Related links

What is due diligence?

Very simply, due diligence is being able to prove that you have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the food you produce, handle or sell is safe and that your business complies with current legislative requirements.

What legislation covers food safety?

Anyone involved in the production, distribution or sale of food must comply with multiple pieces of food safety legislation. In England, the primary legislation governing food safety is the Food Safety Act 1990, while the devolved nations have their own legislation, such as the Food (Scotland) Act 2015.

What does due diligence mean in food safety? (2)

How do I prove due diligence?

The first thing to do is ensure that you have a good management system in place which covers all your policies, procedures and your HACCP (Hazardous Area Critical Control Point) system. You should then keep records of adherence to these systems. Such records will include things such as:

  • Your use of approved suppliers and how you approve suppliers along with any supplier audits that you carry out.
  • Details of how your workplace environment is compliant (e.g. being made from the correct materials).
  • How you prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen and how you check for cross-contamination
  • Your HACCP system, how you control the risks and evidence that you check and review these controls regularly.
  • Your cleaning schedule and personal hygiene procedures and regular audits and inspections to show compliance
  • Records of your fridge and freezer temperatures along with the required limits
  • Your equipment maintenance procedures.
  • Labelling procedures, including for allergens and inspections to check compliance
  • Waste disposal controls
  • Pest control processes and details of any mitigation
  • Training and supervision of staff
  • How you monitor and update records.
  • Regular audits of the whole system including record keeping
What does due diligence mean in food safety? (3)

It is important that your system and record keeping is robust, regularly reviewed, accurate and complete. If you do that, then under the Food Safety Act, you could have a due diligence defence should anything go wrong. The Act states that there is a due diligence defence if:

  • They carried out reasonable checks of their food in all the circ*mstances or it was reasonable for them to rely on checks carried out by the person who supplied the food.
  • The offence was due to an act or default of another person who was not under the business’s control, or due to reliance on information supplied by this person. For example, if they needed to inform the business of an allergy.
  • They had no reason to suspect that an act or omission would result in an offence under the relevant provision.

Food Safety Training

It is clear that it is important to ensure due diligence in the food industry but it isn’t a simple matter. Chris Garland Training run several food safety courses; from our 1 day in-person Level 2 in food safety, to an intensive 2-day course for those who handle food outdoors. We also have accredited courses for food safety in an early years environment, retail environment and food manufacturing, as well as multiple online courses including Level 2 and 3 food allergen courses to name a few. Why not contact us to discuss your food safety training needs, we will be very glad to help you.

What does due diligence mean in food safety? (4)
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What does due diligence mean in food safety?

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What does due diligence mean in food safety? (2024)

FAQs

What does due diligence mean in food safety? ›

In short, demonstrating food safety due diligence is showing evidence of all the reasonable steps you've taken to control hazards and avoid food hygiene breaches. A critical step to achieve due diligence is record keeping - so you have all the information available to you when and where you may need it.

What is due diligence in the food industry? ›

In food safety, due diligence refers to being able to prove that your business has taken reasonable steps to prevent food safety breaches. This means conducting all relevant checks of each element of your food business.

What are the 3 examples of due diligence? ›

The due diligence in business circ*mstances refers to organizations practicing prudence by carefully assessing associated costs and risks prior to completing transactions. Examples include purchasing new property or equipment, implementing new business information systems, or integrating with another firm.

What is due diligence in simple terms? ›

Due diligence is a process or effort to collect and analyze information before making a decision or conducting a transaction so a party is not held legally liable for any loss or damage. The term applies to many situations but most notably to business transactions.

What best describes due diligence? ›

Due diligence refers to being able to prove that your business has done everything reasonably possible to comply with current legislation and regulations. In other words, it helps to prove that you applied all reasonable precautions to avoid committing an offence.

What are the 3 P's of due diligence? ›

The 4 P's of due diligence are People, Performance, Philosophy, and Process. These key elements form the foundation of a thorough due diligence process, covering aspects related to the team involved, performance metrics, investment philosophy, and the overall process followed.

What is the best way to describe due diligence? ›

Due diligence is a relatively common term. Used in business, it broadly refers to the process of investigating and verifying information about a company or investment opportunity. Specifically for compliance teams, it comes up when you consider relationships with new vendors and third parties.

What's another word for due diligence? ›

Noun. A preliminary assessment or examination determining practicability. feasibility study. analysis.

What are the 4 due diligence requirements? ›

The Four Due Diligence Requirements
  • Complete and Submit Form 8867. (Treas. Reg. section 1.6695-2(b)(1)) ...
  • Compute the Credits. (Treas. Reg. section 1.6695-2(b)(2)) ...
  • Knowledge. (Treas. Reg. section 1.6695-2(b)(3)) ...
  • Keep Records for Three Years.
Jan 22, 2024

What is a normal due diligence? ›

A due diligence check involves careful investigation of the economic, legal, fiscal and financial circ*mstances of a business or individual. This covers aspects such as sales figures, shareholder structure and possible links with forms of economic crime such as corruption and tax evasion.

What is due diligence in the workplace? ›

Due diligence requires taking all reasonable steps to protect workers from harm. "All reasonable steps" is based on the level of judgment and care that a person would reasonably be expected to do under the circ*mstances.

What does it mean when someone says do your due diligence? ›

Due diligence has been used since at least the mid-fifteenth century in the literal sense “requisite effort.” Centuries later, the phrase developed a legal meaning, namely, “the care that a reasonable person takes to avoid harm to other persons or their property”; in this sense, it is synonymous with another legal term ...

What to check in due diligence? ›

Areas to target for scrutiny in the due diligence checklist should include:
  • Historical Financial Statements. ...
  • Revenue and Expense Analysis. ...
  • Assets and Liabilities Review. ...
  • Taxation and Tax Compliance. ...
  • Debt and Financing Agreements. ...
  • Working Capital Analysis. ...
  • Financial Projections and Assumptions. ...
  • Cash Flow Analysis.

What demonstrates due diligence? ›

How do you demonstrate Due Diligence? To effectively demonstrate Due Diligence, you must take all reasonable precautions in the circ*mstances to carry out your work and your health & safety responsibilities. This is the standard of care to comply.

What is the full meaning of diligence? ›

1. a. : steady, earnest, and energetic effort : devoted and painstaking work and application to accomplish an undertaking : assiduity. showed great diligence in tracking down the story. He had earned universal respect for his integrity, fairness, and diligence.

What are the three principles of due diligence? ›

Below, we take a closer look at the three elements that comprise human rights due diligence – identify and assess, prevent and mitigate and account –, quoting from the Guiding Principles.

What does due diligence mean in kitchen? ›

Very simply, due diligence is being able to prove that you have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the food you produce, handle or sell is safe and that your business complies with current legislative requirements.

What is an example of customer due diligence? ›

Customer Due Diligence Example: An example of Customer Due Diligence would be a bank requiring a customer to provide a government-issued identification document (such as a passport or driver's license), proof of address, and additional documentation for businesses, like incorporation certificates and financial ...

What does due diligence mean for seller? ›

In real estate, due diligence is the period of time between an accepted offer and closing. It gives you, the buyer, time to get an appraisal, a title search, perform property inspections and more, so you know you're getting what you're paying for.

What does acting with due diligence mean? ›

The term "due diligence" can be read as "required carefulness" or "reasonable care" in general usage, and has been used in the literal sense of "requisite effort" since at least the mid-fifteenth century.

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