East Ayrshire (Core Audit)

East Ayrshire Council is a Scottish Unitary local authority and therefore has responsibility for enforcing food hygiene, food standards and feeding stuffs law within the East Ayrshire area.

According to the March 2006 Food Service Plan, approximately 1,152 businesses in the authority’s area are subject to food law official controls. There are also 181 approved and one registered establishment under feeding stuffs legislation.

The authority has a Food Service Plan covering food hygiene and food standards that meets the requirements of the Service Planning Guidance in the Framework Agreement. The equivalent for feeding stuffs is the Trading Standards Department Food Service Plan – Feeding Stuffs 2007-08 which also meets the requirements of the Service Planning Guidance in the Framework Agreement.

However, no annual review based on the 2006 Food Service Plan has been carried out. The 2007 Food Service Plan has been reported to, and approved by, the appropriate member forum.

The authority has appointed authorised officers and inspectors to carry out official controls under food and feeding stuffs law, and qualification and training records for food law enforcement officers demonstrate that officers are appropriately qualified and receiving continuing development training in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice.

Documented policies and procedures that have been produced are generally comprehensive and concise, although in relation to food law official controls there is no effective system for controlling documents, resulting in some being out of date and in need of review and updating.

Some records relating to official controls under European Commission Regulation No. 853/2004 are not sufficiently detailed to determine whether inspections and audits have assessed compliance with all aspects of relevant legislation and not all records were available.

Approved premises files are generally well maintained, although the records available were not always complete.

Sampling policies, procedures and programmes for food and feeding stuffs have been developed and are being implemented, and adverse food and feeding stuffs sample results are generally being followed-up appropriately.

Officers use a range of informal options to secure compliance. No formal enforcement action has taken place since the new hygiene legislation took effect on 1 January 2006.

Service performance is generally being monitored in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice.