Food safety - inspections
Environmental Health carries out regular inspections on all food
premises within Peterborough to ensure the public is protected, the
law is complied with and that high standards are maintained.Visits to premises are carried out, as far as possible, without prior notification and are programmed throughout the year according to the potential risk to public health presented by the business.. This ensures that our resources are directed towards higher risk premises, which are visited more frequently than those in lower risk categories.
The frequency of inspection depends on:
- The type of food and method of handling.
- Whether there are any food processing activities that increase risk.
- The number of customers served by the business.
- Compliance with food hygiene practices.
- Compliance with structural requirements.
- How confident we are in the management of the food business.
- Whether the food handling practices we see could pose a significant risk to health.
Each category above is 'scored' which determines date of the
next inspection (anywhere between 6 months and 3 years) in
accordance with Government guidance.
During an inspection Officers will wish to ensure that the
food business operator has identified potential food safety risks
and that there are proper controls in place to prevent problems.
Training of managers and food handlers must be suitable and the
condition of the premises and equipment must be satisfactory.
Where unsatisfactory standards are identified every attempt
will be made to resolve the situation by informal means as quickly
as possible. 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.
Following a food hygiene inspection a business will be given a
star rating which indicates how well it has performed in terms of
hygiene compliance, the premises structural condition and the
managements attitude towards compliance. A proprietor is
provided with a star rating sticker and/or certificate after the
inspection which they are invited to display at their premises. The
premises ratings are available to view on the Council's website at
www.peterborough.gov.uk/scoresonthedoors.
Similar scoring schemes are in use in other areas of the country
and can be accessed via the following link
www.food.gov.uk/safereating/hyg/scoresonthedoors/scoresengland.For further information, please contact the
Food team.