What do we do?

We provide a food hygiene enforcement and advisory service to ensure the food produced, manufactured, sold and produced in the Ashfield district is hygienically produced and handled and is safe to eat.

This is achieved by carrying out a wide range of co-ordinated pro-active activities and reactive investigations which include the following :-

• Food hygiene and safety inspections and interventions

• Investigating complaints about food and food hygiene issues at food establishments

• Investigating possible cases of food poisoning

• Providing information, advice and promoting food safety through focussed campaigns and/or projects

• Advising local businesses about food safety issues

• Liaising with and providing advice and information to new proposed food businesses so that they may comply with food legislation without making expensive mistakes and wasting money

• Sampling food from food outlets to check that it is safe to eat

Facts and Figures

In an average year we will:

Inspect over 500 food businesses. The vast majority of these businesses are satisfactory, however, in a number of cases, legal notices will be served on business operators requiring them to carry out improvements in the way they manage food safety, to receive food hygiene training themselves and/or their staff, and/or to carry out improvements to their premises, in terms of structure, equipment provision and cleanliness. A small number of food businesses may be closed during the course of an inspection and/or prosecuted because they are a risk to public health.                                                                                                                    

Submit around 120 food samples to the laboratory for analysis. Where food is found to be borderline/unsatisfactory, action is taken to secure improvements.

Investigate complaints about unsatisfactory food or poor hygiene practices at food establishments and make recommendations/take formal action where necessary to secure hygiene improvements.

Last year we investigated over 70 cases of suspected and confirmed food poisoning. 
 

Did You Know?

If you are a Council tax band 'D' household, £1.06 of your payment is spent to provide the Council's food hygiene service - lower bands will pay less and higher banded properties proportionately more.

Ashfield District Council has Adopted the Food Standards Agency's Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

This will replace the myriad of other local schemes sometimes known as "Scores on the Doors" in England and Wales and provide consumers with a single, easy to understand system. For further information please see our Food Hygiene Rating Scheme web page.
The scheme enables the public to find out about hygiene standards in both catering and retail premises.

The rating information will appear on certificates and stickers provided to food business following a food hygiene inspection and should be displayed in a prominent position for the information of customers. Scores can also be viewed on the National website. To find out more, or to view the rating of a food premises in the Ashfield district, click here.

Further Information

More detailed information in relation to our work can be found in the Food Safety Service Plan (PDF).

If you require any further information or advice about food safety inspections please contact  Health and Housing