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Last revised: 6 October 2008

Please follow this link to make an online enquiry, complaint or report, relating to this service - Making a food complaint

Making a food complaint

Officers from Environmental Health and Protection Service’s Commercial Team can investigate complaints about food premises or food items purchased within the Kennet District.

How we can help

The Food Safety Act 1990 aims to ensure consumers are protected in relation to the food they buy and that it is safe to eat. If food does not meet these criteria then consumers need to know how to complain. Some complaints can be dealt with by returning the food to the where it was purchased from, some complaints however warrant further investigation.

If you are worried about the standard of food safety in a premise or if you have purchased some food which is contaminated due to taste/smells, mould, foreign bodies, is suspected of causing illness or is past its Use By Date for example, you should contact us. You can expect to be contacted by an officer within 24 hours of making your complaint. The outcome and length of time it takes to investigate a complaint will depend on individual circumstances. Some investigations involve complex analysis and this may often take longer than you would expect. In any event we will keep you fully informed of what investigations have been made and the outcome.

Examples of some frequent food complaints

  • Food sold past its ‘use by’ date

  • Mouldy food

  • Food containing foreign matter. ( e.g. pieces of metal, glass, plastic, insects)

These should always be reported to us as soon as possible, particularly in cases of unfit food e.g. mould.

The longer you wait, the harder it is to prove that it was mouldy etc. when you bought it.

On discovering a problem with food you should:

Keep possession of the food. It is your evidence of the complaint.

Contact the Environmental Health Department as soon as possible by telephoning 01380 724911

In most cases an officer will be able to collect the source of complaint from your home. Food officers are not always in the office, but if you wish to deliver the source of the complaint to us, please let us know so we can ensure your complaint can be dealt with.

Please do not send food complaints to us in the post

Keep any till receipts you may have or make a note of the time and date when you purchased the food.

Retain any labels, codes or containers associated with the food. (These are important to enable investigators to trace production dates and times etc.)

Try to preserve the complaint in its original condition. e.g. if you can see something in a food product don’t remove it but leave it in place. If a product is mouldy or you think it may be unfit, place the item in a plastic bag or suitable container and freeze it as soon as you can.

Whilst you are waiting for the complaint article to be collected you should keep it in the fridge or freezer.

What we CAN do

If the foodstuff was prepared by a premises in the Kennet District we will visit the premises to investigate the complaint. If the foodstuff was prepared elsewhere we will liaise with the relevant local authority who may carry out an investigation on our behalf. We may send the food away to be examined. Any actions that we take are to ascertain whether there has been a breach of food hygiene legislation.

What we CANNOT do

The Council cannot obtain compensation on your behalf. We may not be able to return the food to you at the end of our investigation as it may have been destroyed during analysis. Consequently if your wish is purely for a refund or compensation then you should retain the foodstuff and contact the retailer or obtain legal advice on how to take your own action.

If you wish to report a complaint, or have any queries about complaining about a food or food premises, please contact Environmental Health on 01380 724911 or email us at kennet@kennet.gov.uk