East Renfrewshire (Core Audit)

East Renfrewshire Council is a Scottish Unitary Local Authority and therefore has responsibility for conducting food hygiene, food standards and feeding stuffs official controls within the authority's area.

The authority has a 2007/2008 food and feeding stuffs service plan covering food hygiene and food standards law official controls that generally meets the requirements of the service planning guidance in the Framework Agreement.

An annual performance review based on the 2006/2007 service plan has been carried out, and both this and the service plan had been reported to, and approved by, the relevant director at the time of the audit.

According to the 2007/2008 service plan, 445 businesses in the authority’s area are subject to food hygiene and standards official controls. There are also 16 registered establishments under feeding stuffs legislation.

The authority has appointed authorised officers and inspectors to carry out food safety, standards and feeding stuffs official controls, and qualification and training records for officers who are responsible for food law official controls generally demonstrate that officers are appropriately qualified, trained and experienced.

Food hygiene and food standards premises inspections are being conducted at the minimum frequencies required by the Food Law Code of Practice, and audit and inspection records are sufficiently detailed to demonstrate that inspections and audits have assessed compliance with relevant legislation.

Food complaints and complaints about the hygiene of food business premises are being investigated appropriately, although in some cases complainants and food business operators are not being updated about the progress and outcome of investigations.

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 being followed-up appropriately.

Officers use a range of official control options to secure compliance, including letters, voluntary surrenders of food for destruction, hygiene improvement notices, voluntary closures of food business premises, hygiene emergency prohibition procedures, and reports to the Procurator Fiscal. However, the authority is not completely following the Food Law Code of Practice and centrally issued guidance in relation to the use of some official control options.

Service performance is being monitored in accordance with required standards, and any non-conformities that are identified are being followed-up appropriately.