West Berkshire

Food Hygiene/Standards Promotion and Business Advice
The Authority was particularly proactive in this area and had carried out a wide range of innovative activities with significant coverage in the local media.

Food Standards Sampling
The food standards sampling programme was both proactive and extensive. The results were followed up well and provided useful information to inform further enforcement activity.

Internal Monitoring
There was limited evidence of qualitative internal monitoring. The implementation of both quantitative and qualitative internal monitoring procedures covering all areas of the Standard is key to ensuring an effective food law enforcement service.

Formal Food Hygiene Enforcement
Formal food hygiene enforcement was not being carried out in accordance with Food Safety Act Codes of Practice, particularly in relation to improvement notices, where there were problems in drafting and in following up on compliance.

Records
Records were inadequate in a number of areas, particularly for high risk premises such as those approved under product specific hygiene regulations and food standards manufacturers. These records contained insufficient detail to provide an accurate premises history for subsequent inspections, to determine whether follow-up enforcement action was appropriate, and to enable effective internal monitoring to be undertaken.

Inspection Frequencies
There were significant numbers of overdue inspections for both food standards and food hygiene, although recent measures have been introduced to address this and the Authority was prioritising high risk premises.