Food Hygiene Inspections

All food businesses operating within the North Wiltshire district area are subject to regular food hygiene inspections which are carried out by officers of the councils environmental health team. This is a legal duty conferred on the council by the Food Safety Act 1990. They are to ensure that food manufactured for and food sold to the public is safe to eat and that the premises are clean and hygenic.

Last year the food team inspected 100% of targeted premises. Not all premises have the same inspection frequency, the inspection frequency is determined on a combination of factors including size of business, products handled and previous history of the business. Giving a risk based approach. Some high risk businesses require inspection every six months, other low risk businesses may only need inspection every four years.

The aim of the inspection

The inspection has two main aims:-

1. To identify and prevent risks to public health

2. To investigate possible breaches of food hygiene legislation and to take such action as may be necessary to get the business legally compliant.

They will check

Written records of deliveries, suppliers, temperatures of stored products in refrigeration and cooking temperature records if cooking takes place. The management must also have records of cleaning schedules, stock control, staff training and a written risk assessment of their business.

General cleanliness and repair standards will be assessed along with the standard of equipment and fittings. Evidence of pest control and correct refuse disposal will be examined, staff may be questioned about operations they perform at work. All areas associated with the business may be checked including staff changing rooms, storage areas and preparation areas.

Officers Rights

Officers have a right to enter and inspect a food business at all reasonable hours, they do not need to make an appointment and usually come without advance notice. They have the power to inspect a premise, inspect food, examine records including computerised records, they can seize food, take samples and take photographs to be used as evidence.

How long does it take

This depends very much on the type of business being inspected and the complexity of any process they use, it will also depend on the nature of any problems found. Usually a small takeaway with no major problems may take a couple of hours to inspect. On the other hand a large supermarket with several separate departments could take all day.

After the inspection

The officer will discuss matters with the manager immediately after the inspection and will answer any queries the manager may have, the officer will differentiate between legal contraventions and guidance on best practice. A report of visit form will be completed and left with the manager.

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 take a more formal route which could result in letters, improvement notices, prohibition notices or prosecution.

We have a staged approach to enforcement and have signed up to the enforcement Concordat.

Revisits

Some inspections reveal a need for work to be undertaken by the business to make them comply with the law. A single revisit or in some cases several revisits are necessary to chase progress on remedial works. These are not inspections and generally take much less time.