Food Matters

Food hygiene inspections are usually unannounced and Officers have the authority to visit any time that your business is open. It therefore makes sense to think about what you can do to prepare for an inspection so that it can be carried out without unnecessary delays - to the benefit of everyone involved.

Preparation will require you to think about what the inspector may wish to examine or assess. To help you understand what this may cover, this section contains information on the way food hygiene inspections are typically carried out and factors that food businesses will need to consider, together with copies of the inspection forms that we use.

When Officers visit, it is useful for them to speak to someone who knows the business, who can show them around and answer any questions they may have. This should ideally be the owner or manager, as the Officer will need to discuss their findings at the end of the inspection. However, it may also be worth nominating a senior member of staff who can speak to the Officer in their absence.

If you have not documented your hazard analysis, the Officer will want to discuss the food safety hazards you have identified in your business, the control measures you have in place and any monitoring that you undertake to ensure your controls are working. It is, therefore, important that you have carried out a hazard analysis and can relay the findings to the Officer.
More information on Hazard Analysis.

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Officers are likely to want to talk with food handlers during their inspection in order to establish levels of knowledge on the practices and procedures that should be in place. These discussions should be friendly and open. It may be useful to make sure that your employees are aware of the reason for Officers talking to staff in order to allay any fears or apprehensions; this can be done by letting them know what to expect and by indicating how they should respond to an Officer if asked a question.

You should ensure that all of your paperwork relating to food hygiene is kept up-to-date and is properly organised, for example sorted into date order, put into folders and suitably stored for ease of access/retrieval. Officers will be particularly interested in your hazard analysis, if documented, and any related records such as temperature records, delivery records, cleaning schedules, equipment maintenance records, sampling results (for manufacturers), training records etc. It is recommended that paperwork be kept in a designated place so it can be found easily when needed, particularly if the business owner or manager is not on site.
Information, advice and examples of Record Keeping.

Cleaning should be a routine part of running your food business. If cleaning is carried out on a regular basis then the Officer should not find any problems when they visit. Surface debris that has accumulated during the course of that day will not count against you.

It is suggested that you draw up and follow a cleaning schedule. This will help you ensure that all areas and equipment are regularly cleaned.
More information on Cleaning.

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Officers will check the condition of the structure and equipment to ensure that it can be cleaned and that it does not present a risk of contamination to food. You should, therefore, aim to keep the premises and equipment that you use in good repair at all times. However, if a number of repairs become necessary, you should prioritise those areas and equipment where open food is handled and may be contaminated. If repairs are ongoing when the Officer visits, you should explain to them your plan of works and a date when they will be completed.
More information on Construction and Structure.

Officers will also check the temperature of fridges, freezers, cold and hot display equipment etc. when they visit to ensure that they are operating in accordance with the Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995. By regularly monitoring the temperature of your equipment you will ensure that they are working satisfactorily when the Officer visits.
More information on Temperature Control.

Officers will be particularly interested in ensuring your staff are supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters. There must always be at least one person at the premises, at any one time, who has undertaken formal food hygiene training i.e. the Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene. You may, therefore, need to ensure that a number of employees are trained to allow for absence due to illness or holidays. Ideally all food handlers should have formal training. In order to demonstrate that you have complied with the training requirements, the Officer will expect to see copies of training certificates or company training records. These should be kept with your other records so that they are available when the Officer visits.
More information on Training Requirements.

The Council always seeks to deliver fair, consistent, helpful and professional inspections. To help us monitor how well we achieve our aim we have a quality control/feedback system that seeks your assessment of the inspection that was undertaken. A sample of businesses that have been inspected will receive an inspection feedback form, that we ask is completed and returned to us with your assessment, comments and suggestions. In addition, you can always contact the inspecting officer or his/her team leader if you want to discuss any aspect of the inspection that was carried out. The more feedback we can get on the inspections that we carry out, the better we will be able to advise on how to prepare for your next inspection

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