Food safety

The aim of the food hygiene team is to ensure that all food that is manufactured, prepared, sold, stored or served in Wirral is safe and without risks to health.

Food registration

Every food operator engaged in the storage, preparation and/or sale of food is required to register with their local authority at least 28 days before they are due to open.

Visit the Food Business Registration page for more information on how to register your Food Business.

This can be helpful because it gives us the opportunity to discuss food hygiene requirements before food is sold

If you employ people in a shop, you must also complete a health and safety notification form (please contact us for a copy of this).  The term "shop" includes catering establishments open to the public, tea shops, cafes, restaurants, fish and chip shops and public houses. These should therefore be notified to Wirral Council.

New and existing food businesses help and advice is available from the food team.

Investigation of food borne diseases

We will investigate suspected outbreaks of food poisoning.

Such information will be received in the following ways:

• contact from a person who has become ill
• notification from a G.P
• a food business seeking advice

contact with another Local Authority who had a large function in their area.

If a person is reported as suffering from a food poisoning bacteria, they will be interviewed to try to establish a likely source.

A full food history will be taken of the last 72 hours.

They may be asked to submit a faecal specimen to try and identify the bacteria causing the illness.

We may visit premises suspected of having caused illness. The action taken may range from advice for that business to a possible prosecution depending what is found at the premises.

Dealing with Food Complaints

Customers make complaints about food purchased in the Borough. These complaints can include:

• Foreign bodies in food, eg. glass, hair, wood
• Unpleasant taste of food
• Poor handling of food by shop assistants
• Dirty condition of food premises Suspected food poisoning following eating from a food premises

What you should do with a food complaint?

• Do not remove the foreign body or food from its container or packaging
• If handling the food is unavoidable, handle as little as possible
• Please retain all packaging and receipts
• Contact the Environmental Health Section as soon as possible
• You will be asked for details of your complaint, where and when purchased, and any illness suffered
• Store the food away from other food stuffs, preferably in a refrigerator or other cool place
• The food will be collected by the Environmental Health Officer (unless you deliver it to the offices yourself)

When we receive a food complaint, the following action is taken:

• The complaint is usually photographed, labeled and securely stored
• The Officer involved will action the complaint within 2 working days of receipt
• The Officer may invite a representative of the company to visit the Council offices - or a photograph or the actual complaint may be sent to the supplier involved
• If the Officer deems it appropriate the complaint may be submitted to an analytical laboratory for analysis
• When the investigation in complete the Officer will contact you to explain what he intends to do

The action taken will be one of the following:

• Informal advice to the business operator
• Strong verbal or written warning
• Formal caution
• Legal proceedings

The Officer will keep you informed of the progress of your complaint and before closing the case may ask your permission for your name and address to be released to the company.

All food complaints are treated in strictest confidence. By bringing your complaint to our notice you have helped to reduce the chance of such a complaint happening again.

Please note that we will not help you in any action you may take to get compensation from the company or trader concerned. This is a matter between you and the food business and you are advised to seek legal advice from a solicitor.

Food sampling

Regular food sampling is carried out by the Food Safety Team.

A sampling programme is prepared each year, and samples are taken on a monthly basis and sent for microbiological examination.

Foods sampled usually include open (unwrapped) high risk foods such as cooked meats and pies, and food that is manufactured or prepared within Wirral

For more information on food sampling please see the Sampling Policy.

Food Hygiene Training

The Environmental Health Division provides training courses in food hygiene. For more information on course dates please contact 691 8318/8370/8344/8278.

Introduction of the Safer Food Better Business System

Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB), is the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) new simplified approach to understanding how to manage food safety and reduce levels of food poisoning suffered by people eating out.

The FSA has developed SFBB to help catering businesses, particularly smaller ones, comply with new European food safety legislation.

The new EU Food Hygiene Legislation applies to all food businesses in the EU from January 1, 2006. It replaces 17 existing food hygiene directives, which contain inconsistencies and duplication, with three more flexible sets of regulations.

The main requirements are that businesses draw up and follow new risk- based procedures to control hygiene hazards based on a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) approach.

Businesses will also have to keep records to show how any hazards to food safety have been identified and properly handled. They must prove that the systems used will produce safe food and these safe methods must be documented and reviewed on a regular basis.

Safer Food, Better Business is a common sense, simple approach that allows small businesses to meet these new requirements.

The Food Standards Agency website has more information about SFBB which can be accessed from here.

The Food Safety Public Register can be located at the Town Hall in Wallasey.