Food safety service plan

All local councils now have to produce an annual Food Safety Service Plan.

The plan outlines what we are doing to ensure food safety.

Most of the food businesses in the District already meet high standards of food safety. We put a lot of effort into ensuring these standards are maintained and have a firm, but fair approach.

Each year we inspect a percentage of the food premises (in accordance with a national risk based inspection plan) in the area to make sure they are run hygienically and selling food which is safe to eat.

We believe our approach works, as we rarely need to take legal action against food outlets and have very few cases of confirmed food poisonings originating from local business.

The Food Safety Service Plan provides an opportunity to build on that successful approach to achieve even higher standards.

Local initiatives include:

• Distribution an provision of free food safety guides on new food laws to local food businesses.
• Provision of free information and advice
• Promotion of the Food Standards Agency publications 'Safer Food Better Business' for both caterers and retailer food businesses
• An easy to use food complaints procedure, including an explanatory leaflet.
• Putting information on our website.
• Providing level 3 award supervising food safety in catering food hygiene courses.
• Providing level 2 award food safety in catering food hygiene courses.

We also welcome your views about the way the service is provided and how we could improve it.

The attached committee document details last year's service plan achievements and our proposals for the forthcoming year Food safety service plan 2008 - 2009