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Food Inspections

Purpose of Food Premises Inspections

1. To identify contraventions of and ensure compliance with the Food Safety Act 1990, and other associated food safety legislation.
2. To identify potential risks arising from the activities carried out in the food business and to ensure that appropriate controls have been developed and are being properly implemented, taking into account these risks. This is often referred to as a Hazard Analysis.
3. To offer advice about good food hygiene practices.

Inspection Procedure
Authorised Officers (Environmental Health Officers and Food and Safety Officers) have the authority to enter food premises at all reasonable hours and as a general rule without prior notice. The officer should identify him/herself upon entering the premises (all officers carry photographic identification) and the reason for the visit. i.e. to carry out a routine food hygiene inspection, in response to a food complaint or for sampling purposes. In order to ascertain specific information relating to the food businesses operations, the officer will request to see a person in authority (the manager/proprietor of the business) and certainly the person who is in charge of food preparation activities (the chef/catering manager). Under the Food Safety Act, it is an offence to obstruct an officer in the pursuit of his/her duties. Obstruction may be physical in nature, the refusal to disclose information or giving false information. Persons who obstruct authorised officers may be subject to a fine and/or a prison sentence. The officer will wear a clean white coat and appropriate head protection, during the course of the inspection.
In addition to carrying out a thorough inspection of the structure of the food premises (including equipment used in food preparation) and discussing food safety practices and procedures, the officer will also expect to examine various records in relation to adequacy of training of staff, temperature monitoring of frozen, chilled, cooked and re-heated foodstuffs, cleaning schedule and pest control records, if appropriate. The examination of these records will allow the officer to make an assessment of the adequacy of the systems already in place and to offer advice on any changes deemed necessary.

The Inspection Report
Following the inspection, the officer will compile a report to the proprietor of the food business, detailing any matters which were apparent at the time of the inspection and which require attention. The report will specify those statutory requirements that are not being complied with and what remedial action must be taken to comply with the law. In addition, advice will be given on good practice.

Statutory Notices
In order to ensure compliance with the statutory requirements of food safety legislation, authorised officers can serve a number of different notices on the proprietor of a food business. The type of notice served will depend on the risk of injury to health, the size and nature of the business, willingness of the proprietor to comply and previous history of the business.

1. "Improvement Notice".
An authorised officer can serve an improvement notice where he/she has reasonable grounds for believing that the proprietor of a food business is failing to comply with the regulations. This notice will specify the contravention, the appropriate remedy and a time period within which to comply, which is usually agreed with a company representative. The notice also includes details if you wish to appeal.
Failure to comply with an Improvement Notice is an offence which can lead to a fine or imprisonment.

2. Prohibition Orders/ Emergency Prohibition Notices.
If an authorised officer believes that there is an "imminent risk of injury to health" because of the condition of a piece of equipment, a handling process or the premises as whole, he/she may serve an emergency prohibition notice. This has the effect of prohibiting the continued use of the equipment or premises or a particular handling process. The officer must then apply to the magistrates' court within three days for an emergency prohibition order. If the court makes an emergency prohibition order, this must be displayed on the premises so that the public can easily read it. The prohibition order can only be removed once the defects have been remedied to the satisfaction of the officer.
An order can also be applied by the court to the manager or proprietor of a food business which would prohibit that individual from working or participating in the management of any food business. The order can only be lifted by the court.

Frequency of Inspections
The frequency of inspections of food premises is based upon risk assessment. Some food premises and businesses will present a higher risk to the consumer than others. This is dependent upon a number of factors such as the type of food business, the nature of the food, the degree of handling and the size of the business. Those premises posing a higher risk to the consumer should be inspected more frequently than those premises with a lower risk. Food premises are inspected within the range of at least every 6 months (e.g. food manufacturers) to at least every 5 years (e.g. farm shops).

Please note that these are only minimum inspection frequencies and local authorities may carry out more frequent inspections where they consider this appropriate.

For further information please contact the Food Safety Team on 01789 260832 or by email at food@stratford-dc.gov.uk or by fax on 01789 260808

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External links:
Food Safety Act 1990

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Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Elizabeth House,
Church Street,
Stratford-upon-Avon,
Warwickshire,
CV37 6HX

E: info@stratford-dc.gov.uk
Tel: 01789 267 575
Fax: 01789 260 007
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