** NEW LEGISLATION ** APRIL 2018 **

ACRYLAMIDE IN FOOD From April 2018 all food businesses operators (FBOs) will be required to put in place simple practical steps to manage acrylamide within their food safety management systems. This will ensure that acrylamide levels are as low as reasonably achievable in their food.

New Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 will take effect. This will establish best practice, mitigation measures and benchmark levels for the reduction of the presence of acrylamide in food.

Food Business Operators will be expected to

• Be aware of acrylamide as a food safety hazard and have a general understanding of how acrylamide is formed in the food they produce;
• Take the necessary steps to mitigate acrylamide formation in the food they produce; adopting the relevant measures as part of their food safety management procedures
• Undertake representative sampling and analysis where appropriate, to monitor the levels of acrylamide in their products as part of their assessment of the mitigation measures
• Keep appropriate records of the mitigation measures undertaken, together with sampling plans and results of any testing

The measures are proportionate to the nature and size of the business, to ensure that small and micro-businesses are not burdened.

To find out more, please visit the Food Standards Agency website. Link below;

https://www.food.gov.uk/enforcement/regulation/europeleg/legislation-on-acrylamide-mitigation-in-food#overlay-context=user

Please also see COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2017/2158. Link below;

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32017R2158&from=EN

This document gives guidance for establishing mitigation measures and benchmark levels. See annex 1