Enforcement.

Many complaints about food are brought to our attention every year. Both Braintree District Council and Essex County Council Trading Standards can take action depending on the type of complaint.

If the food is mislabelled or sold after the 'use by' date then Essex County Council Trading Standards enforce the law and we will pass the complaint to them for investigation.

If food is considered a risk to health, unfit, mouldy or has a foreign object in it then it is the responsibility of the District Council in the area where it was sold to investigate it. If the food was bought in Braintree District then a member of the Health Protection Section of Braintree District Council Environmental Services Department will investigate it.

If you are unsure who the correct enforcement agency is, please contact us and we will ensure that the correct people receive your complaint.

What Food Complaints Will We Investigate?

Our policy is to investigate food complaints for which we are the investigating authority. The level of investigation will depend upon the nature of the complaint and the Officers opinion and previous knowledge of similar complaints.

At the outset it will be explained to you that we can not get you a refund for your food. At this point you can decide whether to pursue the food complaint through us or to return it to the store for the store to carry out an investigation.

An investigation may range from visual identification of a foreign object to in-depth analysis of the food. Sometimes what initially seems to be something unhygienic e.g. mouse droppings in white bread, turns out to be something quite safe e.g. a small amount of granary bread dough baked into the white loaf. On these occasions no further investigation will be carried out and you will be advised to return the product to the store.

Witness Statement.

When a complaint is received, we will obtain as much information as possible from you about the circumstances of purchase and the discovery of the complaint. Often a 'Witness Statement' will be taken. This is a formal account taken in accordance with the 'rules of evidence' so that if needed we can present it to a court of law. Asking you for a witness statement does not mean we will prosecute, it merely helps us collect information whilst it is fresh in your mind.

Stage 1.

When a complaint is first received, it is examined, often under a microscope, to confirm the nature of the complaint. Sometimes complaints, which initially seem to be totally unacceptable, are found to be things which are not at all harmful e.g. what appeared to be a beetle in a ready meal was in fact a potato sprout. While this clearly indicated that the food was not quite what was expected, no food safety offence was committed and no legal action was taken.

Stage 2.

If the problem appears to have occurred during manufacture of the food one of our first actions will be to contact the manufacturer so that we can establish whether there are other similar complaints and if there is a serious manufacturing problem.

If the product is manufactured in the UK, we will also contact the local authority that enforces food hygiene at the premises so that we can have an independent opinion of their standards.

If the product is manufactured outside the UK contact is made with the relevant country's food safety enforcement service through the UK Single Liaison Body.

Stage 3.

We then decide whether or not we need the opinion of other experts. If so, the complaint may be sent to the Public Analyst or an expert with specialised knowledge. This can provide valuable information about such things as the type and likely origin of glass fragments, the exact nature of pest contamination and identification of unknown foreign objects.

Food Complaint Investigation Standards.

All food complaints are investigated in accordance with the following:

Health Protection Section Food Complaints Procedure

Work Instruction No. 14

LACOTS (Local Authority Co-ordinating body on Food and Trading Standards) Guidance on Food Complaints (2nd Edition November 1998)

LACOTS UK Single Liaison Body - Guidance for Dealing with Transborder Enquiries and Complaints - (March 1999).

Due Diligence.

Food safety offences are 'strict liability' offences in that we do not have to prove that there was an intention to break the law. However this is offset by allowing the food company a 'due diligence' defence. This defence allows the offender to be found 'not guilty' if he can prove that he took all reasonable steps to prevent the offence occurring. This means that we have to investigate what steps have been taken to ensure the safety of the food and whether more could have been done. This is usually done in co-operation with the local authority in the area where the food was manufactured. Most of the large manufacturers have looked at all parts of their manufacturing processes and have thought of all possible risks. This means that there is often little chance of a successful prosecution.

Informal Action.

Most complaints are dealt with informally, because the evidence we have is not sufficient to satisfy a court of law 'beyond all reasonable doubt', because the offender has a good 'due diligence' defence or because the complaint is deemed too trivial to be in the public interest to prosecute. However most manufacturers are concerned about both food safety and their public image and will offer their apologies and often a small amount of gift vouchers as recompense.

Formal Caution.

The law now allows us to give 'Formal Cautions' just like the police. These can be issued when we have enough evidence to be likely to win a prosecution and the offence is admitted. These formal cautions can be a valuable tool as we do not have to divert our time away from other food safety matters in the district.

There is no court case but the company concerned gets a criminal record. If a company has already has a formal caution for a similar offence, we would be likely to prosecute.

Formal Action.

In the event that the investigating officer is confident that an offence has been committed and the company have no due diligence defence, formal action will be considered.

Consistency & Monitoring.

In the case of all food complaints which have been investigated a report is prepared by the officer which follows the Crown Prosecution Service document "The Code For Crown Prosecutors" (To see The Code For Crown Prosecutors Go To http://www.cps.gov.uk).

The report, including recommendations for either informal action, formal caution or formal action, is authorised by the Principal Environmental Health Officer (Health Protection). If the recommendation is either for a formal caution or prosecution the report is also authorised by the Head of Environmental Services.

Time Scales.

These investigations can, on occasion, take some months and we may not be in contact with you for some while. However if you ever want to know what is happening to your complaint, please do not hesitate to contact us quoting the complaint reference number which you will have been given.

Compensation.

We are not in a position to obtain compensation for you from the companies involved, nor are we able to pursue claims for personal injury. If you feel a claim is appropriate, you are recommended to seek legal advice as soon as possible.

Braintree District Council Environmental Services Tel no: 01376 552525, extension 2221

or e-mail: - food&safety@braintree.gov.uk