Food Standards

Derry City Council Environmental Health Department are responsible for Food Standards matters such as quality, composition, labelling, presentation and advertising of food, and also materials and articles in contact with food.
  

• Quality is associated with that which the purchaser of a food product might generally expect. It is advisable that manufacturers develop a quality assurance system to allow consistency in the quality of their product. They should also have arrangements in place for dealing with consumer complaints.

• Composition looks at the ingredients of any food product, and recipes should be devised to ensure that the subsequent product fulfils all statutory requirements regarding composition for example:
  1. maximum levels of preservatives in sausage meat
  2. minimum fat content in milk
  3. minimum meat content of meat products
      

• Labelling of food is necessary to provide consumers with sufficient information to enable them to make informed choice, and then to handle, store and prepare the food safely. For more information on Food Labelling please see our Food Labelling section.

• Materials and articles in contact with food are checked by Environmental Health Officers to ensure they meet specified standards. Items routinely include crockery/cutlery, equipment, disposable food containers and packaging.
   

A programme of inspections is carried out according to a priority rating system at frequencies of 1, 2 and 5 years according to the perceived risk. The food standards inspection may be carried out at the same time as the Food Hygiene inspection that relates to the practices and conditions in the premises.

Environmental Health Officers carry out routine sampling of food products supplied for retail sale as a checking system to ensure that good standards are maintained.

Derry City Council, Environmental Health Food Team take carry out regular and usual unannounced inspections of food premises and follows a sampling programme.
We respond to enquiries from local manufacturers who nee guidance on the composition and labelling of their product and provide advice and to help businesses comply with the law.

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 standards see the Food Standards Agency websites:
www.eatwell.gov.uk/foodlabels/
www.foodlink.org.uk
www.food.gov.uk
www.lacors.gov.uk

 

Contact

Karen Phillips
Senior Environmental Health Officer
Food Control/Infectious Diseases

Genevieve McWilliams
Senior Environmental Health Officer
Food Control/Infectious Diseases