It is important to contact us as soon as possible, especially if the food has made you ill, so that we can record the initial details and advise you how to keep the food before it reaches us, (this will normally be in a refrigerator, unless we instruct you otherwise.)

The food sample can be brought into the Town Hall or we can collect it from your home or office.  Please try to avoid disturbing the food as much as possible, keeping it in its original state, and in its original packaging, and keep the receipt, if you have one.

We will ask you to sign a food complaint agreement form.  Apart from confirming your agreement to proceed, this will ask you to state whether you would be willing to act as witness for the Council if legal action is needed.  We do not divulge your details to the company involved.

We may send details to the manufacturer or importer of the food; or the retailer where it was bought or its head office; or to the restaurant or business where you may have eaten it.  We will ask for their comments on what caused the problem and the precautions normally taken, or which will be taken in the future, to prevent a recurrence.  If appropriate, we will consult with local council about hygiene conditions at the production plant or import company, the precautions currently taken etc.

If we are satisfied that an offence has been committed, further action will be taken in accordance with our enforcement policy.  This may range from warning letters to a formal caution or prosecution.

Under the terms of the Food Safety Act 1990, if a business is able to show they have taken all reasonable precautions and exercised due diligence, they may be able to rely on this as a legal defence in any prosecution, even though the food sold was in an unsatisfactory condition.  In such circumstances we may decide not to prosecute.

If we think a prosecution in the Magistrates Court or a formal caution is appropriate, we will ask if you are willing to provide a witness statement and possibly attend court as a witness.  If you are reluctant to do this, it is very important that you tell us as soon as possible because it will significantly affect the way in which the case can be dealt with.

Food complaint investigations can be lengthy.  It can take several months to obtain all the necessary technical information before we can determine any necessary enforcement action.  When we have finished our investigation, we will write to you and explain our conclusions and the action that we propose to take.
If a food complaint investigation has been completed and resolved informally, the retailer or manufacturer concerned normally asks us for the name and address of the customer who complained, so that they can apologise or recompense them.  We only release this information after we have obtained your permission, so please let us know if you would prefer this not to be done.