Food Safety

New food hygiene laws apply in the UK from 1 January 2006. They affect all food businesses, including caterers, primary producers (such as farmers), manufacturers, distributors and retailers

How the legislation affects you will depend on the size and type of your business.

There are a number of new EC Regulations, which apply directly to food businesses in the UK, and also national legislation in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

For more information on this topic and links to Safer food better business and CookSafe, the food safety management packs to help caterers comply with the new laws from 1 January 2006 click on Food Standards Agency in the related links section

You are strongly advised to download or order your free packs from the above site to ensure compliance with these new laws.

Hygiene Inspections

Our aim is to ensure that the food sold in restaurant, shops, pubs, hotels and markets is safe to eat. To achieve this we carry out regular inspections of all food premises within the area. These inspections look at hygienic approaches to food preparation, food storage and packaging.

If we find an establishment or producer is providing food, which does not meet the basic food safety guidelines we can issue guidance, serve an improvement notice and can ultimately close them down if there is an imminent risk to health. Any action is undertaken in accordance with our Enforcement Protocol.

Sampling

In addition to monitoring food suppliers, we also have a programme of routine food sampling, checking products sold in outlets such as supermarkets and local shops and butchers.

We check the food for fitness of consumption in accordance with guidance from the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS).

Food Hazard Warnings

For the latest updates on food hazard warnings, please visit the Food Standards Agency site within related links.

Food Hygiene Training

The food section will on occasions provide training opportunities to local businesses in food safety and health and safety matters. This may be either at the Council offices or by special arrangement at your own business premises.

If you require further information about current training opportunities, please contact the Environmental Health division using the details on the right hand side of this page. Alternatively, there are many other training providers within the local area who may be able to provide specific training for your business needs. To find out what courses are being run locally, use the CIEH Accredited Training link available on this page.