Council services
Investigating a complaint
If you chose to have your complaint investigated by us, once we receive a sample, we will:
- Carry out a visual inspection of the food and/or piece of contaminant
- Decide whether to pursue the food complaint due to the findings. Sometimes it will just be a common food complaint and you will be advised to contact the manufacturer and/or retailer
- If the inspecting officer decides that a possible food safety offence has occurred, you will be asked to complete and sign a Food Service Request form so that a further investigation can be carried out
- Once the Food Service Request form has been completed, the food item will be bagged and tagged to preserve and protect the evidence and a written receipt will be given to you
What details do you need?
The Food Service Request form is used to record product information needed by the investigating officer to carry out their investigation, ie. product, place of purchase, batch code, use/best-before-date etc. The declaration at the end of the form is very important and the complainant’s signature is required to enable the investigating officer to take the correct course of action and to ensure the complainant knows exactly what they are agreeing to prior to the investigation starting.
How long will the investigation take?
The level of investigation and time required will depend on the nature and complexity of the complaint, the geographical area in which any the offence occurred and the investigating officer’s knowledge and skills gained from dealing with similar complaints.
Complaints relating to physical contamination
If your complaint refers to physical contamination within a food product, the investigating officer may need to examine the object more closely under a microscope. If however this closer examination is still unable to identify the object, it may be sent away for identification to the Public Analyst. The Public Analysts will carry out tests to help identify the object and give their opinion as to when it may have entered the food product.
Complaints relating to illness
If an available food source is suspected of causing illness due to contamination by a chemical or via micro organisms/bacteria, the investigating officer has the option to send the food away to the Public Analyst to identify the cause. The Public Analyst can identify the type of chemical or micro organism/bacteria responsible and the numbers found on the food item.
Complaints relating to poor hygiene
If the complaint refers to poor hygiene practices and/or poor hygiene standards of a premise and they are within our Borough, a visit will be made by the investigating officer to confirm the validity of the complaint. If poor practices and/or standards are found by the officer, the food business operator will be instructed to take the necessary action to correct the problem. The investigating officer will then decide if it is appropriate for formal action to be taken by us against the food business operator.
If the Complaint refers to physical contamination of food which is handled unwrapped and/or manufacturers at a premise within our Borough, a visit will be made by the investigating officer. The officer will look for a possible source and point that the food item became contaminated. If a point and/or source of contamination are found, the food business operator will be instructed to take the necessary action to stop this type of contamination from reoccurring in the future. The investigating officer will then decide if it is appropriate for formal action to be taken by us against the food business operator.
If the complaint refers to the contamination of food that although has been purchased in the Borough of Wokingham, has been manufactured and packaged by a business outside of our area and therefore the contamination could not have occur within our Borough, the investigation may take longer to investigate as information from the manufacturer and their home authority will be requested in writing.
Food borne illness
If the complaint refers to a food borne illness, alleged from a food premise within the Borough of Wokingham the complainant will be advised to see their doctor and give a stool sample. This is done so that the organism responsible for the illness can be isolated and then a food source can be better identified i.e. salmonella – chicken/eggs, bacillus cereus – rice. If no confirmation of the organisms is obtained, the complainants illness is classed as a ’presumptive’ food poisoning case as no evidence linking a food type or food premises can be made.
Food premises outside of our Borough
If a complaint refers to food that was purchased from outside of the Borough but the complainant lives within the borough, the complaint would be investigated by the local authority of the food business. We would still collect the food item and complete the Food Service Request form and pass them onto the investigating authority if requested to do so, alternatively you could contact the relevant authority yourself.
Action option/appraisal
Once the investigation has been concluded and all the relevant information has been received, the investigating officer will decide on the most appropriate course of action from the following:
- No further action – if the investigating officer decides there is; insufficient evidence, no link to a food premises/food type can be made, the complaint is unfounded, then no further action will be taken by us and the case will be closed.
- Informal action - if the problem can be corrected by informal methods eg. verbal advice/letter and/or working with the food business to ensure compliance, this route will be taken by the officer.
- Formal action - if the occence is more serious, previous compliance problem with business, unsure if informal approach will achieve compliance, imminent risk to health, then the officer has the option to chose from a range of formal action e.g. legal requirements, food hygiene improvement notice, prohibition notice, prosecution.
