Coaches voedselvei­ligheid

Anyone involved in distributing food products is required to comply with certain legal guidelines, and food banks are no exception. Therefore, the Dutch Food Bank Association is seeking Food Safety Coaches who can help local food-bank managers to implement its Food Safety Handbook.

The Dutch Food Bank Association (Voedselbanken Nederland) is a national umbrella organisation representing close to 150 food banks from across The Netherlands, ranging from small food banks that supply less than 100 food boxes a week to large ones that hand out up to 3,500 boxes each week. Between them, the food banks handle around 500,000kg of food weekly, and over 70,000 people now depend on them. Food safety has top priority.

Food safety handbook

“First and foremost, safeguarding food safety is in the interests of our ‘customers’,” says Henk van der Meer, coordinator of the association’s food safety team. “But we also have a duty to our suppliers to handle their products responsibly. After all, food banks are not exempt from the legal requirements that apply to food distribution. That’s why we’ve put together a Food Safety Handbook based on the CBL’s (Dutch food retail organisation) Hygiene Code. All food banks must follow that. Furthermore, we’ve launched a food safety project which enables local food banks to undergo a food safety audit performed by an external party. Key focus areas within the audit are the cold chain, personal hygiene and cleaning. The problem is that while the volunteers who help out at food banks are highly motivated, they tend to have limited knowledge of the rules and regulations (e.g. HACCP) that apply in the food industry,” he explains.

‘Food Safety Coaches can draw on their professional experience to offer practical help’

Practical help

The Dutch Food Bank Association is therefore looking to attract Food Safety Coaches who can help the managers and coordinators of local food banks to implement the Food Safety Handbook. “They might do so by taking a look around the facility and providing advice to the management board, or perhaps by holding a short presentation on food safety for volunteers. The Food Safety Coaches are expected to draw on their professional experience to offer practical help. Much of their work is done during the day, although presentations to volunteers are sometimes held in the evenings too.

Recruiting Food Safety Coaches

The Dutch association is currently seeking practically oriented professionals from the food manufacturing and/or retail industry who are willing to spend a few hours each month sharing their expertise with local food-bank volunteers. All coaches help out on a voluntary basis, although some expenses are paid. Meanwhile, the association continues to encourage companies to ‘adopt’ a local food bank and lend professional support.

Any questions? Contact Henk van der Meer, coordinator of the food safety team, [email protected], +31 6 129 88 709