Environmental Health
Environmental Health is responsible for making sure food businesses comply with Food Standards and Food Safety law; to protect customers from the risks of poor food hygiene.
We ensure commercial businesses such as shops, offices, warehouses, catering and leisure activities comply with Health and Safety law to prevent work related accidents and ill-health.
We are also responsible for the control of public health issues within commercial premises and land and the control of infectious diseases within the borough.
Food safety and food hygiene
- Inspecting premises and carrying out a risk assessment
- Investigating complaints about food hygiene or standards within food premises including infestations with pests
- Sampling of food and ingredients to assess quality, composition, and labelling
- Issuing Butchers Licences and the registering of food premises
- Providing information to businesses and the public through training, events and publicity
- If you have a complaint about food premises, please read our food premises complaints policy (Word, 105KB)
Health and safety at work
- Inspecting premises and carrying out risk assessment
- Investigating complaints and accidents
- Inspecting the storage of fireworks
- Dealing with major emergency incidents
- Registering Wet Cooling Towers
- Providing information to businesses, employees and the public through training, events and publicity
Public health
- Investigating cases of infectious diseases and food poisoning and investigating outbreaks
- Provide assistance to the emergency services where there is a major incident including out-of hours
- Investigating infestations of rats, mice and insects in commercial premises
- Investigating drainage problems in commercial premises
- Securing derelict commercial buildings and vacant commercial land where there are public health problems
- Inspecting premises for poisons Licence
- Promote healthy eating, nutritional standards, smoke free eating areas and other health initiatives
- Supervise exhumations and provide certificates for the repatriation of a body abroad
Training
- Advise on training required by businesses for food hygiene and Health and Safety
- Promote reduced cost and funded training initiatives
- Train Environmental Health staff
- Assist in the practical training requirements of student Environmental Health Officers
Receiving complaints and enquires
When we receive your query we will contact you within 3 days and advise you of what action we intend to take. If an officer is investigating the matter further, you will be sent a letter advising you of this and giving contact details.
The service can receive callers to reception at Hackney Service Centre, 1 Hillman Street E8 1DY between 9am - 5pm. However, as we are a small team of field officers we cannot always promise that you will see a specialist officer but your complaint will be taken and we will respond appropriately.
Page updated: 14 Sep 2011
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