Health and Cakey!!
Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2013 6:01 am
The quintessentially British pastime of selling homemade jams and cakes at the village fete to raise money for a good cause is as old as the hills.
But when European guidelines on food hygiene were introduced it sparked panic among the self-appointed health and safety police. They issued strict new guidance which saw the pots of homemade gooseberry jam and chocolate cakes disappearing from community fundraisers.
But now the food watchdog in the UK has handed every keen cake baker and jam maker a reprieve which should see village fêtes offering home produce once again. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has ruled that volunteer cooks and charity groups who occasionally prepare food for community events are not covered by EU laws.
So that means they no longer need to possess a food hygiene certificate before they are allowed to offer their wares for sale. In black and white, the ruling states: ‘There is no rule banning the sale of homemade cakes at school fêtes or other community events.’
The new FSA guidance comes just days after schoolgirl Georgie Hippolite, 12, was banned from selling homemade cupcakes to her schoolmates at an end-of-term charity event. She was told he could not offer from for sale because the baker - her mother, Kirsty Hippolite, 39 - did not have a food hygiene certificate. James Stewart, headteacher at her school, the Cowes Enterprise College, said a health and safety adviser had told them not to accept home produce as they could be liable if someone fell ill.
But the food watchdog now says that most charity and community organisation provide food less than once a month and do not need to register their activities. Only groups that serve hot food regularly, deal with the under-fives or the elderly or are involved in large scale events need to be registered. Scout and Guide groups as well as bring-and-buy sales, Women’s Institute events and village fêtes are also cleared to sell their produce without registering.
The move has been welcomed by professional chefs and amateur cooks alike who have called it a ‘a refreshing injection of common sense.’
