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Food safety inspections

About this service

Routine inspections of food businesses are normally carried out without advance notice and we will always try to visit when food operations are in progress.

Our inspections are regulated by Codes of Practice which are published by the Government. An inspection will usually include the following:

• Officers will introduce themselves and produce identification if required
• An initial discussion will be held about the type of menu, size of operation, staff numbers etc.
• We will discuss your hazard analysis and check what food safety controls and monitoring that you are operating. We will also check that food handlers are adequately trained
• We will inspect the premises
• We will check to see that food safety controls are actually being carried out. We may ask individual staff about food safety issues
• We will discuss the outcome of the inspection with you
• You will be left with an inspection report form which you will be asked to countersign. This will give you a summary of your inspection and tell you of any further action that will follow.

Following an inspection you may receive further correspondence from us. This could be in the form of a letter for informal advice or in the form of an Improvement Notice for more serious matters. This is a legal notice requiring improvements to your business.

How frequently businesses are inspected depends on the risk to food safety that they pose. For example, a small sweet shop may be inspected once every two years. A busy, but poorly run restaurant may be inspected every six months.

If you do not understand what an officer is asking you to do or you don’t agree with the officer, please ask us for an explanation.

Last updated: 19 August 2009