How to appeal against a decision made by the FSA or make a complaint

England and Wales

The FSA is responsible for carrying out official controls in approved meat premises (slaughterhouses, cutting premises, farmed and wild game facilities and co-located minced meat and meat products premises) in England and Wales.

If you are a meat food business operator and disagree with a decision of an FSA staff member, or contractor working on the FSA’s behalf, or you want to complain about the level of service provided by the FSA, in the first instance you should try to resolve your problem with the official concerned, or with the FSA’s Service Delivery Manager for your area.

If you have been unable to do this, you should contact the FSA’s Operations Business Support team, who will refer your complaint to the Area Head of Operational Delivery:

email: business.support@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
tel: 01904 232177

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Veterinary Public Health Programme (DARD VPHP) is responsible for carrying out meat hygiene official controls on behalf of the FSA.  If you disagree with a decision made by a DARD VPHP official, in the first instance you should try to resolve the issue with the official concerned or your regional Divisional or Supervisory Veterinary Officer. Contact DARD by email: vphu.post@dardni.gov.uk, or by phone: 028 3889 1216.

The FSA carries out routine audits of approved meat establishments in England, Wales and Scotland.  If you disagree with the outcome of the audit of your premises by the FSA, you should contact the Veterinary Auditor who conducted the audit and try to resolve any issues informally.

Audit appeal

If you are unable to resolve any disagreement informally, you can submit an appeal using the following FSA two-stage appeal process.

Stage one

You should submit your appeal within 14 calendar days of receiving a copy of your audit report.  The appeal must be submitted on an audit appeal form. Evidence to support your claim that the Veterinary Auditor’s assessment is incorrect must also be provided.  Full details of how to appeal are provided in the letter that accompanies each audit report.

Your audit and the evidence you provide will be reviewed by an FSA Audit Veterinary Leader from outside the area where your premises is based.  You will be notified of the outcome of the audit review within 14 calendar days.

Stage two

Stage two of the audit appeal process is available only to food business operators who have appealed against two successive audits at stage one.

If a food business operator disagrees with the outcome of the second successive stage one review, they can appeal to an independent external investigating officer from outside the FSA. A fee of £250 is payable at the outset as a contribution to FSA costs, which is refunded if the review rules in the food business operator’s favour and the audit frequency is changed as a result.   You will be notified of the outcome of the review within 14 calendar days.

More information

Further information on audit appeals is available in the Manual for Official controls (see chapter 4, part 1, section 5).

You can also contact the FSA in York:

FBO Audit Team
tel: 01904 232070
email: FBOAudits@foodstandards.gov.uk

DARD audits in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, audits of meat premises are carried out by the DARD VPHU on behalf of the FSA.  Further information is available by emailing DARD VPHP at vphu.post@dardni.gov.uk or phoning: 028 3889 1216.

Where the FSA has refused or removed your authorisation for the removal of specified risk material (SRM), you can appeal under regulation 10 of the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Regulations within 21 days of the date the notice is served.

Appeals should be made in writing to:

Head of Policy Food Group
Food Standards Agency
Aviation House
London WC2B 6NH

The FSA will respond to appeals within 20 working days of receipt.  If this is not possible, we will update you and explain why there has been a delay.

Further information on SRM removal authorisations can be found via the link below.

In Northern Ireland, DARD VPHU carries out SRM official controls in approved premises on behalf of the FSA.  Contact DARD VPHP by email: vphu.post@dardni.gov.uk, telephone: 028 3889 2316.

If your complaint does not fall under the categories above and you have not been able to resolve your complaint locally with your Service Delivery Manager or with the Area Head of Operational Delivery, you can submit a formal complaint to:

FSA Complaints Coordinator
Food Standards Agency
Aviation House
London WC2B 6NH
email: openness.team@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
tel: 01904 232127

Complaints will be acknowledged within two days.  You will receive a response within 20 working days of receipt.  If this is not possible, we will update you and explain why there has been a delay.

If you disagree with the classification of your business’s shellfish harvesting area, you should contact the relevant office to discuss the classification decision and options regarding a review of the decision.

Northern Ireland

tel: 028 90417710
email: Executive.support@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

England

Jane Tait
Tel: 07917 070440

Catherine Miller
Tel: 020 7276 8454

email: shellfishharvesting@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Wales

John Hirst
tel: 02920 678940 (FSA Wales)
email: shellfish.wales@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

The FSA is responsible for the classification of shellfish harvesting areas. The classification is based on the results of the FSA’s official control microbiological monitoring programme.

Clear advice about how a food business can appeal against a local authority decision.