Falkirk core audit

Falkirk Council is a Scottish Unitary Local Authority and therefore has responsibility for conducting official controls relating to food hygiene, food standards and feeding stuffs law in the Falkirk district.

Approximately 1,225 businesses in the authority’s area are subject to official controls relating to food hygiene and standards. There are also 12 registered premises that are subject to official controls for feeding stuffs.

The Food Service Plan covers official controls for food and feeding stuffs and generally meets the requirements of the Service Planning Guidance in the Framework Agreement; the inclusion of the required food standards inspection programme details has yet to be completed.

Documented policies and procedures are generally comprehensive and concise, although there was an error in version numbering on some documents.

Suitably qualified officers have been appointed to enforce food and feeding stuffs law, although some officers who have been authorised to conduct official controls for food hygiene and standards are not receiving continuing development training in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice.

Some food hygiene and food standards premises inspections and audits are not being conducted at the minimum frequencies required by the Food Law Code of Practice.

The authority’s electronic database was generally capable of providing information required by the Food Standards Agency, although some records were not up to date at the time of the audit.

Food and feeding stuffs sampling programmes have been developed and implemented, and adverse food sample results are followed-up appropriately.

Officers use a range of informal and formal enforcement options to secure compliance, including letters, voluntary surrenders of food for destruction, voluntary closures, hygiene improvement notices, and hygiene emergency prohibition notices.

Some food hygiene official control records are not sufficiently detailed to demonstrate that inspections have assessed compliance with all aspects of relevant legislation in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice. Some other records are disorganised and confusing, and some database records are out of date.

Although service performance monitoring has increased, it is insufficiently detailed to identify some of the non-conformities that were identified and documented during this audit.

Following the Agency’s audit in March 2008, Falkirk Council developed an action plan to address the non-conformities raised.

The Agency noted the progress that had already been made with implementation of the action plan prior to the follow-up audit.

The full report details the following:

• the original non conformity identified during the March 2008 audit
• the action the Authority intended to take to address the non conformity
• the date by which the non conformity was to be rectified
• the progress to date as notified by the Authority in March 2009
• the comments of the Agency Auditors from the follow-up audit in July 2009

The actions taken to address the action plan have been noted and the audit file has been closed.