Sussex Brewery Hand-Picked to Pilot New Quality Standard for Brewing Industry

Langham Brewery, working alongside industry experts Food Safety Assist, were hand-picked by SALSA to trial the new standard prior to its launch.

In the early 2000s there were around 500 breweries operating in the UK, that figure has now risen to over 1400 according to the British Beer and Pub Association. The new SALSA plus Beer module has been written by Cask Marque experts, alongside SALSA, in response to this substantial growth, creating a standard that focuses on compliance for small and micro-breweries.

The new module, launched on the 30th of June, will allow small breweries and bottlers across the UK to follow a dedicated standard that gives confidence to customers and retailers that their beer is safe, and more importantly, of excellent quality.

The scheme was piloted at four sites, one of which was Award-Winning Langham Brewery in Sussex. Langham worked alongside Brian Humphreys, director of Food Safety Assist, who helped review the module prior to release. He mentored Lesley, James and the team at Langham through the trial of the new module and the results were very positive.

Lesley Foulkes at Langham has said: "Brian was the perfect choice to guide us through the process, both because of his technical experience and his role within the development of the new Plus Beer Module. SALSA plus Beer has improved our business process and workflow and given us a greater confidence and pride in what we do. But more importantly, it gives our customers and potential customers a product which they can trust and whose quality they can promote with confidence."

Brian was eager for Langham to trial the standard because of their long-standing dedication to quality and the unique feedback they would be able to provide to ensure the new module was perfectly tailored for craft brewers.

Sally Ball, SALSA Scheme Manager says: 'We've been aware for some time that this sector needed a dedicated Standard and the results of the pilot are so positive. We hope other small breweries will take full advantage of the strong support structure offered by SALSA to see them through SALSA plus Beer."

ENDS

Issued by Food safety Assist.

Photo caption: Photo 1: A Selection of Langham Ales

Please feel free to use any photo you deem appropriate.

Brewing Industry figures: released by the British Beer and Pub Association.

Note to editors

Food Safety Assist is the trading name of First Thought Consultancy ltd. They offer tailored practical solutions, helping food manufacturers and producers prepare for, pass and maintain industry standards in Food Safety and Health & Safety. They specialise in helping small and medium sized companies across the UK, with SALSA and BRC Audit.www.foodsafetyassist.co.uk

Brian Humphreys is director of client delivery in the company and worked with SALSA to help develop the new standard. He also worked with Langham to implement SALSA in 2014 and the new beer module in June 2015. He is contactable on: 07779641397

Alternatively the office can be reached on: 01434 611568

Email: katy@foodsafetyassist.co.uk

Twitter: @FSAFoodSafety

Langham Brewery is an independent steam powered microbrewery situated between the Sussex towns of Midhurst and Petworth in the beautiful South Downs National Park. Their passion is to produce innovative distinctive and flavoursome real ales using the finest quality ingredients and traditional craft skills. They have multiple awards for their ales, from both SIBA (the Society of Independent Brewers) and CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale).

Address: The Granary, Langham Lane, Lodsworth, West Sussex, GU28 9BU

Telephone: 01798 860861

Email: lesley@langhambrewery.co.uk

Twitter: @LanghamBrewery

Website: www.langhambrewery.co.uk

SALSA is a food-safety standard written by experienced food safety experts to reflect both the legal requirements of producers and the enhanced expectations of 'best practice' of professional food buyers. A SALSA plus Beer audit has been developed in association with Cask Marque, to offer small and micro-sized brewers a Standard tailored to the scale and structure of their operation and to allow approved members to approach buyers with reinforced confidence with their craft ales and beers. The audits are undertaken by specially trained auditors with extensive experience of the brewing industry.

Website: www.salsafood.co.uk

Twitter: @SALSAfoods

Telephone: 01295 724 248