Home > News > March 2006 > 01-Mar-2006

New national occupational standards for food safety

Skillsmart Retail, the Sector Skills Council for the retail industry, has published new National Occupational Standards (NOS) for food safety in retail. The company says the standards were developed in response to recent European Food Hygiene legislation requiring 'appropriate' training of staff working in food premises.

Skillsmart Retail expects retail employers and training providers to use the newly launched competency framework to develop in-house and external training courses in food safety.

"All food retailers should now be working to these standards to ensure compliance with the new legislation, which came into force on January 1st this year," said Skillsmart Retail chief executive, Alan Roberts.

"Retailers can also be assured that the standards are appropriate for their businesses, as they have been developed by retailers for retailers to ensure they are fit for purpose. The British Retail Consortium and small and large food retailers have all contributed to the development process."

Skillsmart Retail says the standards will now also be used by awarding bodies to develop a new VRQ (Vocationally Related Qualification) in Food Safety that is specific to the retail industry.

External link

For a copy of the NOS for Food Safety in Retail, visit the Skills & Qualifications section of Skillsmart Retail's website

Training Reference is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites.

Training and development books

Discover books on a variety of training and development topics at the Training Reference Bookshop

Source suppliers

Visit the Training Reference Directory to view supplier details for a wide range of courses, products and services.

Sponsored links

Back to top