FIPG outlines fire prevention for food manufacturers
of trade associations in the food manufacturing, storage and
distribution sectors,is set to publish its Fire Risk
Minimisation Guidance.
The UK-based Food Industry Panels Group (FIPG), a broad consortium of tradeassociations in the food manufacturing, storage and distribution sectors, is set to publish its Fire Risk Minimisation Guidance.
The guide has been developed by industry in order to assist companies, particularly SMEs, by providing: "A harmonised industry approach to risk minimisation as well as information designed to limit exposure to risk, which aims at improving the risk level of the food industry as a whole." writes the FIPG
The guide provides specific information on controls relating to: workers; processes, equipment and materials; premises.
Specimen forms and templates are also included to assist in implementation. According to the FIPG, the print and CD-ROM versions of the guidance will include detailed checklists to assist in auditing against the guidance.
Current proposals from the UK government on the reform to the fire safety legislation require fire risk minimisation controls on each site to be risk based and be specific to that site. The FIPG says it has issued its guidance in an effort to complement the intended change in approach by providing information on the issues that companies must embrace to ensure thattheir individual approaches "to effective fire safety and property loss control at plant level are successful".
The FIPG's Fire Risk Minimisation Guidance will be published this month by the Food Industry Panels Group, and will be available in avariety of formats from the four founding members of the FIPG - including the Chilled Food website and the CSDF website www.csdf.org.uk.
Established in autumn of 2001 by the Chilled Food Association, the Cold Storage and Distribution Federation, the Ice Cream Federation and the UK Association of Frozen Food Producers, the FIPG represents some £30 billion (€46bn) of the UK food industry.
