Food Production and Quality
The Environmental Health Department Food Team has a legal duty to enforce the Food Hygiene (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2006 and the laws associated with it.
We ensure that all food and drink intended for human consumption by Derry City Council’s food businesses is produced stored and handled without risk to the health and safety of the consumer.
A number of approaches are used to ensure food businesses conform with the legislation:
- We proactively inspect Derry City Council’s food businesses to ensure compliance with the law. Inspections are carried out, as far as possible, without prior notification and inspections are undertaken at intervals that are determined by a risk rating applied to the business, so that those premises that present the greatest risk are inspected most frequently. Generally this interval will be between 6 months and five years.
During an inspection, Officers will want to reassure themselves that potential food safety risks have been identified by the business, and that there are adequate controls in place to prevent any problems. They will also look at the training of managers and food handlers to ensure that it is suitable, and they will check that the condition of the premises and equipment is satisfactory.
Where practices or conditions are not satisfactory, every attempt will be made to resolve the situation by informal means, but where poor conditions persist, or where there is a risk to public health it may be necessary to resort to formal action. This could involve either the service of legal notice, prosecution, or in extreme cases closure of the business.
- We use educational techniques as well as legal means to achieve compliance i.e. Formal Food Hygiene Training
- Investigate complaints about food or food premises. In addition to programmed inspections we investigate complaints from members of the public about unfit food, extraneous matter in food and the condition of food premises. We work closely with other local authorities to ensure that complaints about food manufactured elsewhere are thoroughly investigated at source.
- Investigate notifications of possible food poisoning.
- Action Food Alerts reported to us by the Food Standards Agency
- Give advice to customers and all stakeholders on food issues
- Work with other health professionals locally and nationally.
Derry City Council, Environmental Health Food Team take carry out regular and usual unannounced inspections of food premises.
We investigate suspected food poisoning notifications within 3 working days of being notified.
We will respond to food complaints and complaints about food premises.
Please contact us if you wish to make a complaint about a food item or premises. If you make a complaint we will require your name, address and contact details so that we can keep you informed of our progress.
For further information on food hygiene see the Food Standards Agency websites:
www.eatwell.gov.uk
www.foodlink.org.uk
www.food.gov.uk/safereating
Contact
Karen Phillips
Senior Environmental Health Officer
Food Control/Infectious Diseases
Genevieve McWilliams
Senior Environmental Health Officer
Food Control/Infectious Diseases