Catering, Hospitality and Retail food businesses in Yorkshire and Humberside looking to improve their food safety controls are set to benefit from a new initiative being introduced by deliciouslyorkshire. This latest deliciouslyorkshire service has been specifically developed to help local businesses formalise their food safety systems, providing them with the fundamentals required for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) food business hygiene ratings (‘Scores on the Doors’) and enabling them to take their company to the next level.

Improving quality and safety standards, while maintaining profitability, is one of the biggest barriers encountered by businesses looking to expand. Inevitably, as larger quantities of food are handled and as bigger contracts are won more onerous conditions are demanded. deliciouslyorkshire is dedicated to offering expertise to help members overcome this difficulty by creating a unique and comprehensive Food Safety Manual (FSM), that is both adaptable and bespoke to a particular company’s needs.

The Balloon Tree, an award-winning farmshop & café, situated in the Vale of York has already seen the financial benefits of this latest initiative. A period of phenomenal growth led to The Balloon Tree’s original food safety systems becoming obsolete.

deliciouslyorkshire is working with The Balloon Tree to provide a comprehensive and personalised system for the business. The system addresses the increasing visibility of food business hygiene ratings as a result of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) new ‘Scores on the Doors’ Scheme and the flexible nature of this expanding food market.

Catherine Riley, deliciouslyorkshire Food Technologist commented: “The deliciouslyorkshire Food Safety Manual allows an extensive system to be implemented that provides businesses with the perfect foundation on which they can build towards the 5 stars they should be achieving.

“The Balloon Tree represents an excellent example of a successful; expanding business that has taken advantage of the many benefits that deliciouslyorkshire has to offer.”

Matthew Machin, Managing Director of The Balloon Tree expressed his gratitude towards deliciouslyorkshire for their help through the FSM, stating: “We are extremely happy as a business to be part of deliciouslyorkshire, as it means we are able to receive expert guidance in areas we wouldn’t ordinarily know about. deliciouslyorkshire constantly endeavours to promote local businesses and locally sourced foods, something which strongly reflects our own motto.”