Food safety and the risk assessment of ethnic minority food retail businesses

Food safety compliance amongst ethnic minority food retail businesses has been identified as being less than satisfactory. In order to identify barriers to compliance, a research project was undertaken which identified 40 food retail businesses which had a record of nonconformance to acceptable food safety standards. These businesses were risk assessed by environmental health officers (EHOs) and given an appropriate category commensurate with their performance. Over a six month period the businesses were offered advice and cultural and communication issues were addressed. Seminars and one to one support were offered to the businesses. After a six month period a further risk assessment was undertaken. The results showed 26 (65%) of businesses had improved their risk assessment, 6 (15%) had remained the same, 4 (10%) exhibited some deterioration in standards and 4 (10%) had deteriorated a full category. In conclusion, the research recognizes that language difficulties and lack of knowledge and understanding of the principles of food safety are a major barrier to promoting food safety however when support is offered it can make a significant difference to working practices.