Handling Food Complaints: What You Need to Know
Types of Food Complaints
Food safety teams deal with various types of complaints:
- Food that is unsafe to eat or causes illness.
- Foods so contaminated that they are inedible (e.g., mouldy food).
- Food containing foreign objects like plaster or glass.
- Chemical contamination and improper use of additives.
- Food composition issues (e.g., mislabelled sausages).
- Labelling offences and misleading claims.
Handling Complaints
Steps taken by food safety teams when addressing complaints:
- Formal action requires evidence of public health risk and negligence by the company.
- Complaints that pose no health risk (e.g., insects in canned foods) are not typically pursued.
- Food safety teams do not handle compensation claims; these are civil matters dealt with by manufacturers and courts.
- Enforcement actions are guided by council policies.
Dealing with Specific Complaints
Examples of specific food complaints and their handling:
- Foreign objects in food (e.g., plaster in a cake) warrant investigation if they pose a health risk.
- Tinned food complaints involving insects are addressed; however, canned foods are typically safe due to sterilisation processes.
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