Food Safety Service Standards
What you can expect from us
The Food Safety Service aims to protect residents and visitors from risks to their health and wellbeing by ensuring food manufactured, prepared and sold in the borough is safe to eat.
General Standards
When dealing with Food Safety Service staff you can expect them to:
- be polite and courteous at all times
- keep appointments or give a full explanation if they are broken
- make clear distinctions between legal requirements and recommendations
- operate in line with relevant legislation, national codes of practice and guidance issued by the Food Standards Agency and LACORS (the local authority co-ordinating body)
- have the necessary qualifications for the task being carried out
- be monitored by the Food Safety Manager to assess their ongoing competence and performance through an accompanied inspection programme and a work verification system
- follow the department's enforcement policy when taking formal or informal action.
All correspondence sent to you by the Food Safety Service section will include the contact names and telephone numbers of staff and will make clear distinctions between legal requirements and recommendations.
To make a complaint about the Food Safety Service, please contact us using the details on the Food Safety homepage. We monitor the opinions of our customers and act on suggestions for service improvements.
Food Premises Inspections
We aim to inspect all food premises in the borough in accordance with their risk rating as determined by Food Safety Act Codes of Practices. Appointments will not generally be made for routine inspections. However, if the time of inspection is inconvenient, the officer will carry out a short visual assessment of the premises and then arrange to return at a more suitable time. Following the inspection we will:
- leave a hand-written report
- send out follow-up correspondence within 14 days
- make it clear when asking you to carry out work whether we are making a recommendation or it is a legal requirement.
Complaints about Food
We aim to respond quickly to all complaints relating to food and carry out full investigations. We will collect the food from the complainant's home or place of work. When this address is outside the borough we will make arrangements for the relevant local authority to collect the food. If preferred, the food can be brought to the Environment Services Reception on the 3rd Floor of the Town Hall Extension (see address on the Food Safety homepage).
We will respond to all complaints about food within one working day. The resolution time for a food complaint is difficult to set as we often have to wait for outside agencies to respond (e.g. analysts, food companies, other local authorities). However, where possible, food complaints will be dealt with within six weeks of receipt.
Complaints about Food Premises
We aim to respond quickly to all complaints relating to food premises and carry out full investigations. We will provide the complainant with either written or verbal confirmation of the action taken. We will respond to all complaints about food premises within one working day.
Food Alerts
We aim to respond quickly and effectively to food alerts issued by the Food Standards Agency. We will assess all food alerts within four hours of receipt and take action if required, such as contacting local businesses and issuing press releases.
Food Poisoning and Infectious Disease Investigation
We aim to investigate reports of food poisoning and food-borne illness to establish the cause and prevent further spread. Where possible, investigations will be carried out at times and locations to suit the patient. The speed of our response will depend on the nature of the illness. For certain illnesses we will contact patients within four hours. In less urgent cases contact will be made within two working days.
Food Sampling
We aim to carry out an effective coordinated food sampling programme (click here to find out more). We will follow up unsatisfactory sampling results within three days of receipt.
Food Review Newsletter
We will produce four editions of the newsletter every year to provide food businesses with up to date food safety information. All food businesses in the borough will be eligible to receive the newsletter without charge. We aim to translate at least one of the articles in every issue into another language. Click here to see back issues of Food Review.
