The Strategic Director, Health and Wellbeing will present a report (Document “F”) which explains that the Council is required, by the Food Standards Agency, to have a documented and approved Food Safety Service Plan.

The Service Plan for 2018/19 sets out the measures that the Council will implement to safeguard food and drink which is produced, prepared or sold within the district and is attached as Appendix 1 to Document “F”.

The views and comments of the Committee are sought in relation to the contents of the report.

Recommended –

That the work of the Food Safety Team, as documented in the Food Safety Service Plan 2018/19 (Appendix 1 to Document “F”), be supported.

                                                            (Angela Brindle – 01274 433985)

The Strategic Director, Health and Wellbeing presented a report (Document “F”) which explained that the Council was required, by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), to have a documented and approved Food Safety Service Plan.

The Service Plan set out the measures that the Council would implement to safeguard food and drink which was produced, prepared or sold within the district and the plan for 2018/19 was attached as Appendix 1 to Document “F”.

The Strategic Director presented the details to the Committee and responded to questions from Members as follows:

·         Category E premises were those classed as very low risk such as sweet shops or chemists. The majority of Category D premises had been inspected during the last year.

·         The sampling credit allocation was a historical allocation from Public Health England and had not been reviewed for over 10 years. There had been a reduction in sampling across all local authorities as a result of reductions in staffing and priority being given to visits.

·         West Yorkshire Joint Services had responsibility in terms of food packaging and the inspection of packaging producers. There were specific regulations relevant to packaging that came into direct contact with foodstuffs.

·         Recruitment issues were not just a problem at local level. One of the issues contributing to a shortage of qualified Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) was considered to be the inability of local authorities to offer enough paid placements to students, further to their degree studies, to enable them to obtain registration with the relevant Chartered Institute. There was currently no apprenticeship route to qualification but this was in the process of being developed.

·         Three trainee EHOs had recently been recruited and it was hoped that they would become fully qualified within 12 months.

·         Appendix 2 to the Service Plan set out the minimum frequency for visits. When premises were visited they were categorised according to their risk rating. The inspection frequency ranged between every 6 months for Category A and every 2 years for Category D.

·         The costs associated with the work done with Wakefield Council and West Yorkshire Trading Standards on enhanced collaboration only amounted to officers’ time; this work was considered to have been very useful and worthwhile.

·         There was now a mandatory hygiene rating display scheme in Wales and Northern Ireland and the FSA had collated evidence which indicated that the numbers of premises rated 3 and above had increased as a result. New legislation would be required to introduce a mandatory display scheme in England and the FSA was still keen to pursue this but Brexit had stalled this aspiration at this point in time.

·         Action was taken with operators with poor standards in accordance with the enforcement policy which allowed the service to serve improvement notices, to issue cautions or to prosecute. One of the problems for the Service was the high turnover of operators.

·         Premises could only be closed down if there was an imminent risk to health.

·         Support and advice to businesses was usually provided on site when an inspection was undertaken; this may include updating the proprietor/owner on relevant legislation. Business owners were encouraged to sign up to the ‘stay connected’ system on the Council’s website. The website had a lot of relevant information and also directed people to the FSA website as a main primary source of information.

·         In terms of recycling, checks were always made in respect of what was being done with waste oil and a lot of companies had now made arrangements for this to be collected and recycled.

·         The majority of visits were unannounced, an appointment would only be made if the business was within a domestic premises or if it was necessary for a particular individual to be present.

·         There had been no increase in food hygiene complaints this year related to the high temperatures during the Summer..

·         The Pollution Team dealt with any issues in respect of nuisance associated with smell/odour.

·         Consultation on the annual plan took place within the department and with the other West Yorkshire local authorities and the guidance published by the FSA, in respect of the required format, was followed.

·         The Service checked that businesses had a trade waste contract and were disposing of their waste properly but were not directly involved in the promotion of recycling.

Resolved –

That the work of the Food Safety Team, as documented in the Food Safety Service Plan 2018/19 (Appendix 1 to Document “F”), be supported.

NO ACTION