Audit and monitoring
The Food Standards Agency works closely with local authorities to ensure that adequate measures are in place to realise the Agency’s goal of safe food for all.
As part of this partnership, the Agency audits local authorities’ enforcement services and provides a report that outlines areas where the authority can focus its efforts on improvements, while also celebrating good practice.
Local authorities provide the enforcement data which enables the Agency to fulfill its obligations under article 14 of the Official Control of Foodstuffs Directive 89/397 (OCD) to send to the European Commission annual returns on official food enforcement activities. The Commission uses this information to ensure that foodstuffs are subjected to appropriate food controls across the EU.
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About the audit scheme
The Agency's local authority audit scheme, launched April 2001, is the process by which the Agency conducts a qualitative assessment of local authority performance.
Audit reports
Audit reports, including an action plan developed by the local authority to address the audit findings, are published following completion of the audit.
Local Authority Enforcement Monitoring System (LAEMS)
LAEMS is a web-based system used to report local authority food law enforcement activities to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Monitoring data by year
The summary data in this section is collated from local authority returns and submitted to the European Commission on an annual basis.