11 replies to this topic

[Newly]

My wife and I run a small business making candyfloss. We have two part time staff and for a number of years we have worked out of our home/garage supplying local shops, petrol stations, ice cream vans, theatres, cinemas, fairs and anyone else who can sell candyfloss for us. A couple of months ago we won a contract to supply a larger convenience store and the buyer for the convenience store asked to see our HACCP manual which we do not have.

Our ingredients are sugar and food colouring which we spin into candyfloss packaged in bags and now also sealed in containers. On the advice of the buyer I have researched and downloaded CAC/RCP 1-1969, Rev. 4-2003 standard for HACCP. It appears complex and I question whether this is even applicable to a small manufacturer such as ourselves; it would be extremely useful if a member of the forum could provide a worked example of the seven principles of HACCP, ideally for candyfloss though I accept that could be pushing my luck. I have been considering employing a consultant though that would be costly and if it is something I can handle then all well and good.



Thanks in advance for your time.

John Newly

[Charles.C]

Dear newly,

Welcome to the forum! (probably first from Isle of Man)

I don’t know about yr location but this kind of requirement is often a regulatory issue.
Small food businesses like takeaways, restaurants in EC were recently required (ca. 2005 +) to conform to similar HACCP requests and the result was predictably somewhat chaotic technically. Maybe this principle is being extended into yr small scale manufacturing situation by yr customer. In UK the solution (via local authorities) was the appearance of specially “tailored” documents / packs (freely downloadable) which were officially considered as equivalent to full HACCP systems. Try here for information –

http://www.food.gov....resources/sfbb/

Maybe other similar UK (or Isle of Man!) manufacturers hv more knowledge ?

Rgds / Charles.C

PS I guess this outfit must have experienced similar struggles -

http://www.candyflos...and_safety.html

[Mike Green]

My wife and I run a small business making candyfloss. We have two part time staff and for a number of years we have worked out of our home/garage supplying local shops, petrol stations, ice cream vans, theatres, cinemas, fairs and anyone else who can sell candyfloss for us. A couple of months ago we won a contract to supply a larger convenience store and the buyer for the convenience store asked to see our HACCP manual which we do not have.

Our ingredients are sugar and food colouring which we spin into candyfloss packaged in bags and now also sealed in containers. On the advice of the buyer I have researched and downloaded CAC/RCP 1-1969, Rev. 4-2003 standard for HACCP. It appears complex and I question whether this is even applicable to a small manufacturer such as ourselves; it would be extremely useful if a member of the forum could provide a worked example of the seven principles of HACCP, ideally for candyfloss though I accept that could be pushing my luck. I have been considering employing a consultant though that would be costly and if it is something I can handle then all well and good.



Thanks in advance for your time.

John Newly

Hi John

I know nothing about Food Safety in IOM!-but I'm guessing that as a food business you will be recieving regular inspection visits from your EHO and therefore is already broadly compliant with relevant food safety legislation?

If so, my first port of call would be to talk with the EHO to ask how they could assist you in complying with your customers request. - their main remit these days is info, advice and guidance

In England if this new contract represented significant growth for your business there might also be some small business funding to help with development-(but again not sure on IOM)

also ask your potential new customer (are they IOM based?) exactly what there requirements are re haccp-hopefully all they are after is safe/tasty/reasonably priced candyfloss!-so there requirements may not be as onerous as at first they seem!

Once you know what they want..... there are loads of haccp toolkits/templates available online at no/low cost that should allow you to put together a workable haccp based system yourself, without spending a fortune!

Regards

mike

[GMO]

Yes your EHO is a good resource but unfortunately ime they have such a wide remit that HACCP isn't their specialist subject. Definitely a starting point though and probably could get you pointing in the right direction but it might be worth getting some training yourself to take it further. (Not trying to put myself out of work but engaging a consultant would be cheaper but invariably will end up with a good HACCP but one you don't understand nor could keep up to date.)

[Newly]

Hello all and thanks a lot for the warm welcome and your assistance. This is the link to our regulatory resource on IOM: Food Safety Unit thus far we have not been visited by an EHO, maybe more luck than anything else. As I said we are transitioning from being a kitchen table producer to a proper food company (whatever that means) so all of your links and information are valuable, especially the Safer Foods Better Business documents. I am going to investigate HACCP training to an advanced level for myself as we all have Food Hygiene Options training and certificates already. It mentions the importance of training in HACCP principles and applications in the codex HACCP, so I think that will be a good place to start for us. When I k now more about it no doubt I will be back to mine the knowledge here further. For now thanks, all the best.

John Newly

[safaval1]

My wife and I run a small business making candyfloss. We have two part time staff and for a number of years we have worked out of our home/garage supplying local shops, petrol stations, ice cream vans, theatres, cinemas, fairs and anyone else who can sell candyfloss for us. A couple of months ago we won a contract to supply a larger convenience store and the buyer for the convenience store asked to see our HACCP manual which we do not have.

Our ingredients are sugar and food colouring which we spin into candyfloss packaged in bags and now also sealed in containers. On the advice of the buyer I have researched and downloaded CAC/RCP 1-1969, Rev. 4-2003 standard for HACCP. It appears complex and I question whether this is even applicable to a small manufacturer such as ourselves; it would be extremely useful if a member of the forum could provide a worked example of the seven principles of HACCP, ideally for candyfloss though I accept that could be pushing my luck. I have been considering employing a consultant though that would be costly and if it is something I can handle then all well and good.



Thanks in advance for your time.

John Newly

I suggest to take a two day HACCP course through NSF or similar organization. you will find it very helpful. As a food supplier, you will need to have a HACCP plan with at least one Critical Control Point, For example, having a metal detector will be your CCP. Process flow and HACCP prerequisite program are not too complicated and can be done by yourself.

[Mike Green]

Hello all and thanks a lot for the warm welcome and your assistance. This is the link to our regulatory resource on IOM: Food Safety Unit thus far we have not been visited by an EHO, maybe more luck than anything else. As I said we are transitioning from being a kitchen table producer to a proper food company (whatever that means) so all of your links and information are valuable, especially the Safer Foods Better Business documents. I am going to investigate HACCP training to an advanced level for myself as we all have Food Hygiene Options training and certificates already. It mentions the importance of training in HACCP principles and applications in the codex HACCP, so I think that will be a good place to start for us. When I k now more about it no doubt I will be back to mine the knowledge here further. For now thanks, all the best.

John Newly

Hi John,

I have to say I am a bit surprised that you did not get at least an initial inspection visit when you registered- knowing that you have not had any contact(and not knowing your level of compliance) I would revise my suggetsion to approach your EHO -for the moment at least!
Reviewing the IOM safety info- they are broadly in line with the uk- and are therefore looking for their food businesses to have 'a haccp based food safety system' -of which there are one or two generic models kicking around (the sfbb link provided by Charles C being to a very useable example)-It sounds as if you don't have one at the moment-so for me the first step(now) would be at least to work through that-it is pretty basic and possibly would not meet the needs of your new customer-but it should meet the requirements of your EHO-which would be a start!!

With regard to your haccp training course- my advice would be to go with a provider who has small business haccp experience-not one who is used to taking staff through who come from large manufacturing operations-then along with the training you can ask questions, get some practical advice relating to your business needs-and as GMO says you can end up with a relevant useable haccp system-rather than one that just sits on a shelf-and eventually drowns you in a morass of irrelevant paperwork

Good Luck!

Mike
.

[Tony-C]

My wife and I run a small business making candyfloss. We have two part time staff and for a number of years we have worked out of our home/garage supplying local shops, petrol stations, ice cream vans, theatres, cinemas, fairs and anyone else who can sell candyfloss for us. A couple of months ago we won a contract to supply a larger convenience store and the buyer for the convenience store asked to see our HACCP manual which we do not have.

Our ingredients are sugar and food colouring which we spin into candyfloss packaged in bags and now also sealed in containers. On the advice of the buyer I have researched and downloaded CAC/RCP 1-1969, Rev. 4-2003 standard for HACCP. It appears complex and I question whether this is even applicable to a small manufacturer such as ourselves; it would be extremely useful if a member of the forum could provide a worked example of the seven principles of HACCP, ideally for candyfloss though I accept that could be pushing my luck. I have been considering employing a consultant though that would be costly and if it is something I can handle then all well and good.

Thanks in advance for your time.

John Newly

Hi John

You are going to be pretty lucky if you find a HACCP Plan for Candy floss so how about working through the process with assistance from our members.

Start with Principle 1:
Prepare a flow diagram of the steps in the process. Conduct a hazard analysis by identifying potential hazards. Assess likelihood of occurrence of these hazards and identify control options.

So if you could list how you make the Candy Floss for a start including the ingredients and how you handle/pack it.

Regards,

Tony

[Cathy]

Can we back up a little and be sure we've got the preliminary steps taken care of? Dop you have a HACCP team ?(maybe we, on the forum are pseudo members!) Can you further describe the product and its intended use? The descriptions should include key food safety factors including packaging and shelf life.

By the way, I have to say the first thing I think of when it comes to Isle of Man is the movie 'Waking Ned Divine" - great, fun movie !

[Newly]

Sorry for my delayed response, in answer we have two US manufactured gold medal machines and the process is much the same as everyone has seen at some time or other on fairgrounds and suchlike. The ingredients are pure granulated sugar and flossine added for colour and flavouring at 2 heaped tablespoons of flossine for each 10lb mix. Essentially candyfloss is caramelised strands of sugar, the candyfloss machine melts the sugar (185C) and as it rotates liquid sugar spins out and cools in the air to produce candy floss. We pack in polyethylene bags or tubs with a lid and we say shelf life is maximum of 6 months from manufacture date.

As an update we have managed to secure some free help from a consultant via the food safety unit. For now thanks for all your inputs which have been extremely helpful.

John Newly

[Ian R]

I would say do the Level 2 HACCP course, not the advance. Then shop around for a consultant that will both work with you to develop a HACCP and other food safety systems and ensure that you are applying with the legislation.

DO NOT get a consultant to do it for you, use them as in-house tutor so when they leave you know what you are doing and more importantly WHY!
Remember it's your HACCP, your product and in the end your responsibility to apply by the law. HACCP is a legal requirement!

[Simon]

Sorry for my delayed response, in answer we have two US manufactured gold medal machines and the process is much the same as everyone has seen at some time or other on fairgrounds and suchlike. The ingredients are pure granulated sugar and flossine added for colour and flavouring at 2 heaped tablespoons of flossine for each 10lb mix. Essentially candyfloss is caramelised strands of sugar, the candyfloss machine melts the sugar (185C) and as it rotates liquid sugar spins out and cools in the air to produce candy floss. We pack in polyethylene bags or tubs with a lid and we say shelf life is maximum of 6 months from manufacture date.

As an update we have managed to secure some free help from a consultant via the food safety unit. For now thanks for all your inputs which have been extremely helpful.

John Newly

Good news John, if you need further help or have a question at any time please feel free to ask.

Regards,
Simon