Food Safety

Officers within the Public Health Team of Environmental Services work hard to guard the safety of food within the district. The main areas of activity are:

Routine inspections of all commercial premises where food is produced, handled or sold. Those reaching good standards are rewarded with a Food Safety Award (Food Safety Award Scheme).

Investigations of food borne illness.

The provision of free advice and guidance to both businesses and the public about food safety and hygiene.

The registration of food businesses operating within Purbeck.

The provision of good quality training in food safety for food handlers (Training Courses).

The experienced team has access to a wide range of information. However, further information on food safety is available from other sources, including the Food Standards Agency website

How We Perform:

We carry out customer satisfaction surveys which we use to improve our services. The link below shows the levels of satisfaction for 2008/9

Approved food premises

Licence summary	If you operate food premises you may need to be approved by your local authority. Examples of types of premises that are required to be approved local authorities are stand alone (ie not attached to a slaughter house, cutting plant or game handling establishment): You should contact your local authority to see if you require approval. meat processing plants meat preparation plants minced meat processing operations and mechanically separated meat processing plants cold stores
Eligibility Criteria	No provision in legislation
Regulation Summary	A summary of the regulation relating to this licence
Regulation Summary	A summary of the regulation relating to this licence
Application Evaluation Process	No provision in legislation
Will Tacit Consent Apply?	Yes. This means that you will be able to act as though your application is granted if you have not heard from the local authority by the end of the target completion period OR No. It is in the public interest that the authority must process your application before it can be granted. If you have not heard from the local authority within a reasonable period, please contact it. You can do this online if you applied through the UK Welcomes service or use the contact details below.
Apply online	Apply for approved food premises
Failed Application Redress	Please contact your Local Authority in the first instance.
Licence Holder Redress	Please contact your Local Authority in the first instance.
Consumer Complaint	We would always advise that in the event of a complaint the first contact is made with the trader by you - preferably in the form a letter (with proof of delivery). If that has not worked, if you are located in the UK, Consumer Direct will give you advice. From outside the UK contact the UK European Consumer Centre.
Other Redress	E.g. about noise, pollution, etc. Also should one licence holder complain about another.
Trade Associations	Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland (LMC)
	National Association of Catering Butchers (NACB)
	National Federation of Meat and Food Traders
	Scottish Federation of Meat Traders Associations (SFMTA)

Links:

Food Safety Award Scheme, Training Courses,

Food Standards Agency

2008/9 Customer Satisfaction Survey

Contact Details:

To speak to someone directly please call 01929 556561, or email us at envservices@purbeck-dc.gov.uk

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