Gateshead Council
Wednesday 30 July 2003
29 November 2002
Gateshead Council covers an area of 55 square miles and extends almost 13 miles along the south bank of the River Tyne. Gateshead has a population of 191,000, which is declining and there is a rising proportion of people over 65.
Following the decline of mining, heavy engineering and jobs that related to the River Tyne, many people are now employed in service industries. Gateshead is a mix of old and new, rural and urban and has some major manufacturing industries as well as retail, wholesale and warehousing centres. A significant amount of redevelopment has taken place on the banks of the River Tyne and the council is currently involved in ambitious regeneration plans with a combined investment of £500 million.
The area deals with millions of visitors every year, particularly to the Metro Centre, one of Europe’s largest indoor shopping and leisure complexes with 27 million visitors each year.
New management arrangements were recently introduced in Gateshead to improve the way the council works and to deliver better, more responsive services. Food hygiene and food standards enforcement was carried out by officers of the Food Control Service, within Commercial and Consumer Services, part of Regulatory Services under the Development and Enterprise Group.
Executive Summary
Gateshead was carrying out an extensive, targeted food sampling programme for microbiological examination and for compositional analysis and labelling purposes. The programme reflected the council’s sampling policy, adopting a risk based approach with an emphasis on foods manufactured locally and participation in co-ordinated sampling surveys. The sampling programme was also closely linked to the annual inspection programmes for food premises.
The authority had produced a detailed Service Plan which set out its proposals for food sampling and had developed a comprehensive set of sampling procedures. Appropriate follow up action was being taken on unsatisfactory food sampling results.
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