Food Business - Food Safety Inspections
The local authority carries out regular checks on all food premises to ensure the public is protected and that high standards are maintained. Inspections take place on a frequency determined by the perceived risk in each premises and ensure that food safety risks have been identified, staff are adequately trained and the condition and cleanliness of the premises meet required standards.
Visits to premises are carried out, as far as possible, without prior notification and are priority programmed according to the degree of potential risk. This ensures that higher risk premises are visited more frequently than those in lower risk categories.
During an inspection, Officers will want to reassure themselves that potential food safety risks have been identified by the business, and that there are adequate controls in place to prevent any problems. They will also look at the training of managers and food handlers to ensure that it is suitable, and they will check that the condition of the premises and equipment is satisfactory.
Where practices or conditions are not satisfactory, every attempt will be made to resolve the situation by informal means, but where poor conditions persist, or where there is a risk to public health it may be necessary to resort to formal action. This could involve either the service of a legal notice, prosecution, or in extreme cases closure of the business.
Legislation
- Food Premises (Registration) Regulations 1991
- Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995
- Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995
- Food Labelling Regulations 1996 (as amended)
- Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) (Butchers' Shops) Amendment Regulation 2000
- Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2005
Page updated: 14 Jan 2008