Everything you need to know about Safer Food Better Business

Safer Food Better Business is a comprehensive food safety management system designed for small catering businesses. Learn how to implement it effectively in your establishment, and keep your customers safe with our ultimate guide.
Michael Radley
 • 
Apr 2023
4 min read

You need a food safety management system to keep your food safe and your business compliant.

And to prove to an EHO that you deserve a food hygiene rating of 5.

Not sure where to start? Don’t worry, you’re in the right place, below we explore what safer food better business is and how to use it for your business.

What is safer food better business?

Safer Food Better Business (SFBB) is a simple system developed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to help small to medium sized food businesses in the UK comply with food law.

It’s basically a checklist that restaurant owners can download for free with all the food hygiene checks they need to do each day. Helping food businesses:

  • Comply with UK law & FSA food hygiene regulations
  • Prove to EHOs that you prepare food safely
  • Improve food hygiene
  • Keep customers safe
  • Train staff
  • Protect the reputation of your business

Who is safer food better business for?

SFBB is for a broad range of businesses, including caterers, retailers, childminders, residential care homes, and more.

The SFBB for caterers pack is for restaurants, cafes and bars that are registered with the local authority as a food business.

How does it work?

Download and print the government SFBB pack. The pack contains sheets for you to work through, called “safe methods”, explaining the main food safety risks and how to manage them.

And there’s a diary you need to fill in every day, noting anything different that happens, including anything that goes wrong.

The diary includes:

  • Week-to-view diary pages
  • Checks to do every day when you open and close
  • Cleaning schedule
  • 4-weekly review
  • Staff training record
  • Suppliers’ list

The manager on site needs to sign the diary every day to confirm the opening and closing checks, cleaning and safe methods have been carried out.

If something goes wrong, you need to describe what happened and what you did to fix it. EHOs will be looking for examples of this when they visit your business as part of a food safety inspection.

Managing food hygiene guide


Do I need a safer food better business diary?

It’s important to note that your food hygiene checks don’t need to be kept in an SFBB diary/pack to meet EHO requirements.

Nowadays, there are quicker, simpler digital solutions that make it easier for your team to run through daily food safety checks. So you don’t need to print and trawl through hundreds of pages of SFB.

Introducing Trail

Trail replaces your safer food better business diary with a simple EHO approved app.

Trail guides you through your checklists
The app works on any smartphone or tablet. Smart digital checklists automatically tell you what to do and when to do it for total confidence in your food safety management.

Comply with FSA food hygiene regulation
Trail has all the tasks from your Safer Food Better Business Diary set by the FSA.

Ensure tasks are completed correctly
Each task includes bite-sized guidance on how to complete it correctly—no trawling through endless pages of Safer Methods for what to do.

Take corrective action
Easily document if something goes wrong and leave comments on tasks so teams can take corrective action. And you can ace your next inspection.

Get a food hygiene rating of 5
Trail keeps a secure digital record of the daily checks—no loose bits of paper and binders. EHOs can locate everything quickly and easily to help you get that all important 5.

Managing food hygiene guide

What customers are saying

"I f****** love Trail, it's taking my businesses to the next level."
Josh Paterson
Owner
"We rarely provide training to our guys, they just bought into the idea straight away. I love that I have a full visual of everyone's activity in front of me."
Katrin Toots
Compliance Manager
“It’s not a paper diary that’s covered in barbecue sauce. We have clarity over what’s done in our sites and are confident going into our audits.”
Jay Brown
Operations
“The EHO visited almost every site last year and every store was given a five star rating."
Jay Brown
Operations Chef
"We turned our Costa Checks and various compliance forms into regular tasks on Trail, which has contributed to some of the best scores we have had."
Delroy Daniels
Operations Director
"Our teams love it, it gives our managers of all levels absolute clarity on what they need to achieve every day."
James Brown
Operations Director

Rated 5/5 on