Food complaints
No matter how much care is taken or how good
a manufacturer or supplier of food is, there will be times when something goes wrong and
the food sold is not acceptable to the customer. Food safety teams receive many complaints
relating to food every year, finding a foreign object in food is one type of complaint, however,
not all pose a health risk. For the Food Safety Team to take formal action there would
have to be a public health risk, information including where the food was bought and any
relevant packaging to provide a chain of evidence and also evidence that the company concerned
has not taken all reasonable steps to prevent the problem. Any formal action must also comply
with the council’s enforcement policy. Compensations claims are a civil matter that should be taken
up by the manufacturer and if necessary the courts. The food safety team, environment
health and trading standards department will deal with complaints that pose a public risk
they don’t get involved in any compensation claims. The Food Safety Team will deal with:-Food
that is not safe to eat or actually makes you ill. Food that is so contaminated that
it could not reasonably be eaten (such as a mouldy pie)Food that contains a foreign
object, for example, a plaster or fragment of glass in a cakeChemical contamination of
food and improper use of additives composition of food not as it should be for example sausages
containing less than the minimum percentage of meat. Labelling offences and misleading
claims, Some Typical Food Complaints should be reported to the retailer. Complaints
relating to tinned food include insects which are harvested along with the fruit and vegetables,
whilst steps are taken to remove these insects some will slip through the net. These insects
and grubs are killed and sterilised by the canning process
and pose no
health risk.
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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