Welcome to the March 2015 news review from Verner Wheelock
1990 – 2015: 25 years in business
This year at Verner Wheelock we are celebrating 25 years in business, offering training and consultancy services to the food industry. Started in Bradford in 1990 by Dr Verner Wheelock we initially worked with local authorities, butchers and food manufacturers.
Now our business is focused almost entirely on food and drink processors working towards BRC certification, and our range of courses reflects this. Following on from the introduction of BRC Issue 7 in January 2015 our BRC Update courses are proving extremely popular and we have now introduced a TACCP course (see details below).
To celebrate our silver anniversary we have introduced some Excellence Awards and will be awarding them to the top students attending our HACCP, Food Safety and Auditing courses during 2015, as well as a couple of extra awards for excellence in food industry training.
Course News
**NEW** TACCP course
Our first TACCP course in Skipton is planned for 3rd July and is proving very popular, and places are already limited.
TACCP stands for Threat Assessment Critical Control Points. It is a requirement under BRC 7 that food manufacturers should have systems in place designed to help them become more resilient to food fraud, deliberate contamination and other types of attack within their supply chain.
The course will comprise the following elements:
- Introduction to PAS96 (the stage prior to a British Standard) and TACCP
- TACCP Process and how to conduct a TACCP study
- Understanding the various forms of threats to a food business operation
- Understanding how to identify threats and assess risk
- Identifying control measures for security, premises, personnel, materials and processes
- Establishing contingency plans for recovery from attack
- Auditing and reviewing food defence procedures
Further courses are planned for 27th July and 13th October 2015, or courses can also be run in-house at your own premises.
Results
Well done to the delegates on our FDQ Lead Auditor course on their excellent results. One delegate achieved a score of 98% in the written exam which we think is the highest score EVER on this course!
Consultancy
During March we were delighted to start some consultancy work with successful Skipton Fish and Chip chain, Bizzie Lizzies.
The company is very forward-thinking in terms of menu choices, and has already introduced a gluten free option to their takeaway shops. Everyone loves fish and chips but they are not really thought of as the most healthy choice, so Bizzie Lizzies are looking at adding some healthy options to their range. Our nutrition consultant, Dr Lisa Gatenby, will be carrying out some nutritional analysis of a selection of new dishes so that full information of nutritional content and calories and can be included on the menus, to give customers more choice.
Staff news
Well done to our Business Development Executive, Graham Lund on passing his RSPH Level 3 Award in HACCP!
Congratulations are also in order for Marketing Exec. Jodie Stacey in submitting her first assignment for her CIM marketing qualifications, and to Jason Kearton from our Training Support Team on achieving his dark blue belt in Ju-Jitsu.
As we are so busy at the moment with enquiries and bookings here at Verner Wheelock, we are now looking at taking on a new member of staff. We are currently advertising for a part-time Sales Administrator, based in our offices at Broughton Hall. If you require further details, please contact Alison Wheelock on 01756 708002 or email