West Dorset
Wednesday 25 September 2002
11-14 February 2002
The Authority demonstrated a strong emphasis on supporting and assisting local food businesses to meet legal standards. It was also clear that the Authority was prepared to take formal enforcement action where it felt that an informal approach was not succeeding.
It was evident, however, that there were numerous problems with the formal enforcement actions taken by the Authority, particularly in the service of improvement notices. The Authority will need to reconsider the balance of its priorities as several high risk premises had not been inspected at the required minimum frequencies according to risk, and a large backlog of overdue inspections had built up.
Although the Authority was developing its information systems at the time the audit was undertaken, there had not been a systematic approach to record keeping. Inconsistencies in the database records and very limited information about inspections and actions on the database systems precluded a full assessment of the Authority’s performance in most areas.
The Authority's Strengths
Advice to Food Businesses and Food Safety Promotions
The Authority had established a specialist Training and Promotions Section to provide a high level of support to local businesses and to assist them in complying with food safety requirements. The Service had undertaken an extensive range of business training courses and a wide range of food safety promotional initiatives.
Food Service Plan
The Authority’s Food Service Plan 2001/2002 provided clear and comprehensive information about the Food Service. The Plan identified locally defined objectives and also set out the means by which national standards would be applied and delivered at a local level.
Key Areas for Improvement
Inspection frequencies
Food hygiene inspections, including those of Approved Premises, had not been carried out at the minimum riskbased frequencies required by Food Safety Act Code of Practice No. 9: Food Hygiene Inspections.
A significant number of high risk rated premises had not been inspected within the necessary minimum time periods and a large backlog of inspections remained overdue.
The minimum frequencies determined by the Code of Practice risk rating scheme are devised to ensure that enforcement authorities are regularly monitoring food safety standards in businesses and to enable timely interventions to be made when necessary.
Record Keeping
Records of actions for most areas of activity were insufficiently detailed to determine in full whether officers were carrying out their duties in line with the relevant legislation and official guidance.
In general, the details retained following inspections, butchers’ licensing assessments, the receipt of food hazard warnings and formal enforcement actions were not sufficient to permit effective monitoring.
Adequate and retrievable records are also important so that subsequent officers can be aware of premises’ histories of compliance and to enable appropriate enforcement decisions to be made in a staged approach.
Improvement Notices and Formal Enforcement Documents
There were a large number of significant errors in the drafting and content of formal enforcement documents, particularly improvement notices. It is essential that formal enforcement documents are drawn up and administered in accordance with official guidance and the relevant Food Safety Act Codes of Practice. Failure to do so renders the Authority vulnerable to successful legal challenge.
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