To receive a presentation from officers within the Health and Safety service on working arrangements and local emerging issues within the food safety service and upon standards of food safety within the Borough.
Minutes:
The Panel welcomed Mr. Colin
Alborough, Environmental Health Manager, who gave a presentation on the food
safety service working arrangements and food safety standards in the Borough.
Mr Alborough advised of the purpose
and main areas of work for the team. Their purpose was “to ensure that food and
drink on sale for human consumption, which was produced, stored, handled and
consumed in the Borough was without risk to the health and safety of the
consumer.” The work involved carrying out the statutory, regulatory service as
described by the Food Standards Agency Framework Agreement and the Food Law
Code of Practice. Day to day work involved inspecting and rating businesses,
supporting new businesses, responding to statutory notifications, acting as the
Primary Authority for the British Army, and linking to the wider public health
agenda.
It was advised that the work of
the team complemented the Council Plan through a number of areas, in particular:
It was advised that the displaying
of the Food Hygiene Rating certificate was not compulsory in England. However
in Scotland it was mandatory and in Wales it would soon become mandatory to
display the certificate. An app was available called “scores on the doors” to
check the rating of local establishments anywhere in the country. The Panel
reviewed a slide which showed a graph of the different ratings up to March
2015, a request was made for an updated version to be circulated to the Panel.
The Panel was shown a number of
issues that the team faced in 0/1 rated businesses. These include: cross
contamination of food types, cockroach infestations, poorly maintained
equipment and evidence of rodent activity. The Panel was advised that
appropriate enforcement action would be taken in each case in line with the
Council’s Enforcement Policy.
The team received about 550
service requests a year and were the frontline point of contact for both
residents and businesses. Service requests included requests from new
businesses for help setting up, complaints about food and food premises, food
alerts (including mislabelling), and notifications of infectious diseases.
The Panel was informed that, going
forward, the Service would continue to support customers and develop cost
recovery and income generation. Work would also continue to remain fit for
purpose, ensure appropriate responses to emerging issues, keep pace with
regulatory reviews and keep relevant to changing times.
A discussion was held during which
a number of issues were raised, these included;
In response to a query it was
advised that all larger companies that sold/prepared food were inspected. If a
company changed hands the new owners were obliged to inform the Council and an
inspection would be carried out within 28 days.
The Panel AGREED
Action to be taken |
By Whom |
When |
To provide updated information
on the FSA Food Hygiene ratings to include 2016 and 2017. |
Mr. Colin Alborough,
Environmental Health Manager |
Week commencing 19.06.17 |
To prepare a warning notice to
the Nepalese community regarding the harvesting of watercress from the
Cove Brook. |
Mr. Colin Alborough,
Environmental Health Manager and Cllr Mark Staplehurst. |
Week Commencing 19.06.17 |
The Chairman thanked Mr. Alborough
for his presentation.