EU legislation requires that food businesses in all member states must implement a Food Safety Management
System based on HACCP principles. Although manufacturers have used this system successfully
for many years it has been less common in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), especially those
in the food service sector. There are considered to be a number of barriers which small businesses find
particularly difficult to overcome. This study assesses the impact of various Food Safety Management
Systems in 50 small businesses in Cyprus. It compares food hygiene before, during, and after implementation
of the food management systems, assesses the attitude of the Food Business Operators and
the hygiene knowledge of the staff. Results show that the maximum improvement came when implementing
the pre-requisite programmes and a bespoke HACCP plan but that a deterioration in standards
could be identified when using more complex systems such as the CYS 244 standard or ISO 22000. Food
Business Operator attitude started positively but became more negative as the complexity of the Food
Safety Management System increased.