Most food legislation contains the due diligence defence. This is there to protect the business that has taken all appropriate precautions to avoid prosecution yet still manage to get it wrong.

The consequences of getting it wrong are:

Fine
Imprisonment for serious offenders
Prohibition from conducting a food business
Bad publicity and brand damage

Due Diligence Health Check

Do you wonder if your systems and procedures are adequate? Have you covered all the elements you need to?

FoodChain Europe provides a Due Diligence Health Check which has proven to be a popular first step to see if all is well. The Due Diligence Health Check is an examination of the systems you have in place to establish whether or not the basic principles of due diligence are covered.

The Due Diligence Health Check takes the form of an on-site review with your Directors and senior managers of the business. Typically this can be completed in one day. At the end of the day the assessor will discuss the findings with you. You will also receive a brief report detailing the principles of due diligence with an overview of how well the business meets each of the requirements.

Detailed Due Diligence Study

You may prefer the benefits from an in-depth study which wil

Be customised to meet the needs of your business
Identify the activities your business is engaged in and checks that the appropriate controls are in place
Identify key legislation that applies to your business and determine your level of awareness and compliance with legislation e.g. including topics you may not even be aware of such as e-commerce legislation
Highlight areas that are not reviewed in depth during other audits/certification programmes and examine the level of compliance in greater depth
Rather than list ‘non-conformances’, provide an action list or suggest solutions to the issues raised

Duration of the study depends upon the size, complexity of your business. If you are confident about some areas of your controls you may prefer the study to concentrate on areas of potential weakness. The output of the study will be a detailed written report pinpointing areas of potential exposure and liability.

Due Diligence Helpline

Need help communicating with your local authority?
Need practical advice regarding enforcement challenges?
Need help with legal compliance, labelling and advertising issues?

It’s better to go to the problem than wait for the problem to come to you so if you need help or advice call +44 (0) 1675 475 775

Download information leaflet.