Agenda item

To consider a joint report by the Head of Planning & Public Protection and the Public Protection Manager which seeks the Committee to consider and comment on the progress made against the Food Safety Task and Finish Group’s recommendations

10:45am – 11:30am

The Lead Member for Public Realm introduced the report and the Public Protection Business Manager detailed the work which had been undertaken within the last twelve months with respect to the regulatory aspect of food safety and standards and to improve procurement and contract management of the Council's own food procurement practices for the various establishments it operates.  The Lead Member advised that he had accompanied food safety and trading standards officers on some of their visits, including visits to school canteens.  He had been greatly impressed by the thoroughness of their work and their professionalism in conducting their day to day business.

Responding to members' questions the Lead Member and Public Protection Business Manager confirmed that:

·         it was a statutory requirement for food outlets to display their 'scores on the doors' food hygiene rating (now known as the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme).  Non-compliance with this could result in a Fixed Penalty Notice;

·         all food outlets, be they private or public, were subject to food hygiene and standards inspections;

·         it was each individual business' duty to register the fact that they were selling food or drink with the local authority.  Officers would routinely as part of their visits to other businesses keep an eye out for new outlets operating in the area and check the Council's records to ensure that they had registered.  If it transpired that they had not, contact would be made with the business to support them in that and other associated processes;

·         businesses that score a 1 or a 2 food hygiene rating were classed as a 'higher risk' and therefore required more support to improve their rating.  Food standards officers adopted a proactive approach towards these businesses and would offer advice and support to help them improve in time for the follow-up inspection.  The majority of businesses welcomed the support given as it was in their interest to improve their 'scores'.  The timing of follow-up inspections was dependent on the nature of the problem behind the initial rating and the time needed to rectify i.e. lack of cleanliness or aging specialist equipment which required replacing.  Sufficient time would be given to rectify identified problems;

·         follow-up visits etc. were built into the Service's business plan as officers expected to undertake a certain percentage of such visits per year

·        food hygiene visits were undertaken on an unannounced basis and took place at intervals dependant on the category of risk given to the business, which can be between 6 months for Category A and 24 months for Category D.  It was extremely rare for the business owner to refuse admission to a food hygiene/standards inspector.  If they did refuse it was usually due to a lack of understanding and once the position was explained to them they usually permitted the visit to proceed;

·         if a specialist food producer was required in attendance during an inspection the visit would then be pre-booked to ensure all relevant personnel were on hand;

·        food hygiene inspectors operated County wide but would prioritise their work by area in order to cut down on travelling costs etc.  However, if they were in an area responding to a complaint they may also undertake a number of routine inspections in the same area in order to be cost effective;

·         travelling fairs and mobile food outlets were governed by the same food hygiene and safety regulations.  These businesses were registered with the business owner's 'home authority', however this did not prohibit any authority which they were visiting from inspecting them or dealing with any complaints received;

·         they would check and report back to members on the tender and due diligence process applied to the Council's Catering Service contract awarded to Hughes Meats of Bangor;

·         with respect to low hygiene ratings given to two hospitals in the County in recent months they advised that the Health Board was keen to work with officers to rectify the problems identified.  They confirmed that the Council had the required staff to support this work.

As these low hygiene ratings in local hospitals were a cause of concern to residents the Committee asked that they be furnished with copies of the inspection reports and a briefing note on the progress made to date to rectify the problems.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Committee asked the Lead Member for Public Realm and the Public Protection Business Manager to convey members' appreciation to the Service's staff for their hard work and efforts in this area.  It was:

Resolved:

(i) subject to the above observations to receive the report and note the progress made against each of the recommendations in the Task and Finish Group's report; and

(ii) that an information report be presented to the Committee in twelve months time on the progress made during 2015/16 with food safety, standards and procurement.