Food and Feed Law Service Plan 2021/2022

Published 22nd October 2021 An accessible plan from southtyneside.gov.uk

Introduction

Ensuring the safety of food for human consumption is a long-standing and important public-health role of the Council, delivered through the Environmental Health team.

The Council has a statutory obligation to conduct a range of food and feed enforcement functions in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 and a range of regulations made under the Act. The Local Authority acts as the ‘Competent Food/Feed Authority’ as required by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the national regulator for official food and feed controls. 1

Having regard to the legislative changes as a result of leaving the European Union (EU), there have been additional functions and duties afforded to the Food/Feed Authority to oversee and enforce, in relation to maintaining the safety and integrity of the food and feed products entering and leaving the UK. Although much of the existing legislation has been temporarily retained, new legislation has been adopted to enable the continued exportation of food products of animal origin and high-risk products not of animal origin to the EU as well as the trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This has resulted in many new protocols and procedures.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is an independent Government Department responsible for overseeing and working to protect public health and consumers’ wider interests in relation to food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As part of the national food safety framework agreement, Codes of Practice (CoP) and supporting guidance for Competent Food/Feed Authorities are issued in order to direct Competent Authorities on how to fulfil their obligations in respect of food and feed official controls. 2

The Codes of Practice require that the Council has in place:

  • a risk-based intervention programme for food hygiene, food standards and feed enforcement,
  • adequate management systems and procedures for:
    • the investigation of food and feed safety incidents and complaints,
    • for inspecting and sampling of foods,
    • for investigation of cases of food-related infectious disease and control of outbreaks, and
    • for the provision of advice and guidance to food and feed businesses.

The Framework Agreement requires the Council to effectively plan the delivery of its service and to have in place a service plan setting out how the official controls will be delivered with the four main goals of ensuring:

  • Food is safe
  • Food is what it says it is
  • Consumers can make informed choices about what to eat
  • Consumers have access to an affordable diet, now and in the future

The Food and Feed Law Service Plan 2021/22 demonstrates South Tyneside Council’s commitment to fulfil statutory obligations in an effective and proportionate manner, having regard to the resources available. Work will be prioritised on a risk basis and in accordance with regulating bodies' guidance on priorities, 3 with inspections targeted at high risk and poor performing businesses and alternative interventions used for low risk businesses where possible, including questionnaires, sampling visits, monitoring checks and audits completed by other local authority services. The Environmental Health service will endeavour to engage additional competent and duly authorised contractors and fixed-term staffing to undertake certain elements of the inspection plan, providing additional capacity to tackle the significant shortfall in food safety interventions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This plan aligns with many of the current priorities defined in the FSA Strategy and Strategic Plan 2015 – 2020 ‘Food we can Trust’ which is primarily aimed at putting the interests of consumers first, 4 and the principles of the Government’s ‘Better Regulation’ Agenda, having regard to the Regulators’ Code 5 which regulators must follow when developing policies and procedures that guide their regulatory activities. This includes making best use of the contact we have with businesses to provide help and support to promote an open and constructive relationship and to signpost to other support networks.

Service aims and objectives

Aim

To maintain and where possible improve the health and wellbeing of residents, workers and visitors to South Tyneside by ensuring the safe production, processing, handling, storage, distribution and sale of food/feed in the borough and deliver on the FSA’s main goals of ensuring food says what it is, enabling customers to make informed choices based on accurate and reliable information at the point of sale.

Objectives

  • To meet the ‘standard’ set out in the FSA ‘Framework Agreement’
  • To ensure that food is safe to eat and free from extraneous matter
  • To contribute to a reduction in food-borne illness by improving food safety standards throughout the food chain
  • To investigate all notified cases of food-borne illness, and outbreaks of food poisoning, in order to minimise risk of spread, through education, advice and exclusion if required
  • To maintain an accurate register of food businesses in South Tyneside
  • To carry out food hygiene inspections in accordance with the minimum inspection frequencies and to standards determined by the Food Standards Agency
  • To approve all food/feed establishments operating in the authority’s area, that are placing products of animal origin on the market, and implement a series of risk-based interventions in accordance with the FSA ‘Food Law Code of Practice’
  • To keep accurate records of all food/feed safety enforcement activities and produce timely statutory returns as required by the FSA
  • To improve levels of compliance with food safety law within the business community, by targeting advice and enforcement to non-compliant businesses, and through the effective use of intelligence
  • To encourage standards of hygiene higher than the minimum acceptable in law by aspiring to have all food premises reach a 4 or 5 rating
  • To provide consumers with information in respect of hygiene standards in food businesses across South Tyneside, thereby enabling them to make informed choices about where they purchase or eat their food.
  • To improve food safety practices of businesses and consumer knowledge, through the delivery of educational and promotional activities and the provision of advice, guidance and signposting to partner agencies
  • To promote honest and informative labelling of food to help consumers make informed choices regarding the food they eat
  • To support business growth
  • To proportionately enforce relevant legislation in accordance with the principles of ‘Better Regulation’ and having regard to South Tyneside’s Food and General Enforcement Policies
  • To deal with food hazards/incidents in accordance with FSA guidance
  • To implement the FSA Food Hygiene Rating Scheme for Borough-wide score ratings based on hygiene standards and adopt the Brand standard guidance governing the protocols.
  • To support regulatory compliance for other food-based delivery services within the Council by offering support and direction as necessary

Council objectives and plans

The Council’s Priorities are set out in the South Tyneside Council Strategy 2017-2020. The delivery of this Food and Feed Law Service Plan contributes to the following Strategic objectives:

Improve health, wellbeing and standards of living

We do this by:

  • Inspecting food/feed premises in accordance with Food/Feed Law Codes of Practice guidance
  • Promoting the use of ‘Safer Food Better Business’ in all food premises
  • Inspecting and sampling food/feed and water to ensure its quality and safety
  • Investigating complaints about food and food premises
  • Investigating all reported cases of food poisoning and taking action to prevent the spread of infection
  • Taking appropriate action in response to food incidents
  • Promoting key food safety messages through a variety of media

Support business development and skills training

We do this by:

  • Working with new businesses and event organisers to ensure that they understand and meet their statutory responsibilities before they begin to operate
  • Targeting training on key food safety matters to high-risk businesses.
  • Providing food hygiene guidance in languages other than English as required

Encourage the creation of quality jobs

We do this by:

  • Working with new food business operators to help them understand and meet legal standards
  • Offering advice and guidance as part of routine inspections

Maximise trading opportunities

We do this by:

  • Providing on site advisory meetings for Food Business Operators.
  • Providing Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) rerating visits for Food Business Operators.
  • Promoting businesses achievement (Food Hygiene Rating Scheme) through the Council’s website
  • Establishing informal agreements with local businesses who export products of animal origin, to support them in their export trading arrangements, following an increase in documentary and regulatory requirements thereby enabling them to maintain trade links with Europe (Export Health Certificates / Attestations))
  • Supporting local businesses who export products containing products of animal origin through the issuing of Export Health Certificates to confirm they meet the import requirements of other non-European countries.

Improve productivity and deliver Value for Money

We do this by:

Periodically reviewing the way in which the service is offered and implementing identified improvements that maximise the use of available resources or improve the level of service received by residents, visitors and food business operators in the borough, based on current and emerging risk to the food/feed supply chain.

In addition, new priorities announced by the Leader of the Council on 12th March 2021 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic include the following direction for the Council in the recovery phase. Namely to:

  • support young people in need,
  • support families and our older or more vulnerable communities,
  • create the conditions for recovery and investment,
  • support town centres, high streets, villages and hospitality and
  • invest in our natural and built environment.

Background

Profile of South Tyneside

South Tyneside is a place with a rich cultural heritage, spectacular scenery and a strong community spirit.

The borough includes the towns of South Shields, Hebburn and Jarrow and the villages of Boldon, Cleadon and Whitburn, sitting within the Tyne and Wear conurbation, with the River Tyne boundary to the North and North Sea to the East. Further information on local health profiles can be viewed at https://www.localhealth.org.uk.

Organisational structure

The Food Safety service sits within the Council’s Environmental Health team. All officers are directly managed by the Lead Food Officer currently, reporting to the Service Lead - Environmental Health. The Service Lead – Environmental Health reports to the Council’s Head of Environment.

Roles and responsibilities
Role Responsibilities
Service Lead-Environmental Health (1 x FTE) Responsible for overseeing all work within the team including target setting, monitoring, performance, training and development
Environmental Health Officer (0.73 x FTE) Principal Environmental Health Officer. Full range of food/feed hygiene, health & safety, animal health duties. Lead Food Officer, officer competency, quality control.
Environmental Health Officer (1 x FTE) Environmental Health Officer. Full range of food safety duties.
Environmental Health Officer (0.6 FTE) Environmental Health Officer. Full range of food safety duties.
Technical Officers (Food Safety) (2 x FTE) Full range of food safety enforcement duties
Environmental Health Officer (0.5 FTE) Enforcement of health and safety, animal health plus a nominal number of inspections to retain food hygiene competency
Food Safety Officer (1 FTE) Programmed and reactive food and water sampling - located within the Food team.
Technical Officer (1 x FTE) Enforcement of health and safety, animal health & welfare.
Environmental Health Officer (1x FTE) Primarily Housing enforcement, plus a nominal number of inspections to develop food hygiene competency.

Scope of the Food Service

The Food Service is responsible for all aspects of food hygiene and safety and infectious disease control. Responsibilities include:

  • Food hygiene and Food Standards inspections and other interventions in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice
  • Approval and inspection of food businesses handling food of animal origin covered by Regulation (EC) No 853/2004
  • Maintaining a register of food business establishments
  • Investigation of complaints about food and hygiene at food premises
  • Microbiological food and environmental sampling
  • Food sampling for compositional and labelling conformity
  • Investigation of complaints concerning labelling and composition of food
  • Investigation and control of sporadic cases of food poisoning and food-borne disease and other relevant infections, including the investigation and control of food poisoning outbreaks
  • Imported food control; sampling and enforcement
  • Issue of Export Health Certificates
  • Response to Food alerts (food hazard warnings/incidents) as required
  • Promotion of ‘Safer Food Better Business’
  • Promotion and operation of the National Food Hygiene Rating scheme
  • Examination and responding to planning and licensing applications and Safety Advisory Group (SAG) consultations in relation to food premises and related food-safety activities in the Borough.

The official controls relating to feed functions, responsibilities and duties are delivered by a range of officers within the Environmental Health team reporting to the Lead Feed Officer in Trading Standards. Responsibilities include:

  • Feed inspections and other interventions in accordance with the Feed Law Code of Practice
  • Approval and inspection of feed businesses handling feed for food animals and pets, as well as those businesses selling, processing and handling feed material for feed producing animals
  • Maintaining a register of feed business establishments for which official interventions are required
  • Investigation of complaints about feed and hygiene at feed premises
  • Microbiological feed and environmental sampling
  • Feed sampling for compositional and labelling conformity
  • Investigation of complaints concerning labelling and composition of feed
  • Official controls at the Port for imported feed material and products; sampling and enforcement

Areas of added value include:

  • Food Safety training and advice to support our local existing food businesses, new and proposed food businesses and consumers on food safety matters
  • Promotional and educational activities and initiatives based around food safety, food hygiene and food standards

As part of the provision of a complete service the team works in conjunction with the following partner organisations:

Partner organisations
Organisation Role Address
Public Health England For the provision of Food, Water and Environmental Microbiology Services to Local Authorities. FW&E Microbiology Laboratory,
York,
Block 10, York Biotech Campus, Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ
The Council’s Appointed Public Analyst For the examination of food and feed samples and associated labelling and compositional testing. Public Analyst Scientific Services,
54 Business Park,
Valiant Way,
Wolverhampton,
WV9 5GB
The Animal Health and Plant Agency For queries relating to import/export trading arrangements. Carlisle
Public Health England For Infectious Disease and Food poisoning notifications. North East HPT.
Public Health England
Floor 1. Barras Bridge,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 8QH

Demands on the Food Service

On 1 April 2021 there were 1138 food premises in South Tyneside in the inspection programme.

The number of each type of food business is as follows:

Food businesses
Type of Food Business Total Number of premises in Category
Producers 5
Manufacturers and Packers 12
Importers / Exporters 3
Distributors / Transporters 14
Retailers 298
Restaurants / Caterers 806
Awaiting Designation 158
Total 1296

The vast majority of these businesses are registered in accordance with Regulation (EC) 852/2004, 6 are approved in accordance with Regulation (EC) 853/2004, 1 of which is approved specifically by the FSA and currently there are no unrated businesses awaiting inspection for approval.

There are a number of major food processors in the borough, including meat products and preparations manufacturers, fish products, a ready meal manufacturer, a bakery producer and a cold store.

The majority of food businesses are involved in catering and have commercial premises from which they trade. But increasing numbers of retail and catering businesses are moving to domestic and on-line services which means that many of these businesses, which are subject to the same regulatory compliance rules and checks, require more resource to track and monitor such activities. Where visits to food businesses identify that current registered ownership details are missing or not up to date, this is corrected as part of the inspection process.

Our service delivery

The Environmental Health Service is based at South Shields Town Hall. The office is open from 08.30 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Thursday and 08.30 am to 4.30 pm on Friday. Many visits are made outside these times, including weekends, as determined by the needs of the service and the trading hours of the particular food business, as required under the Codes of Practice.

In view of the large size of the borough, officers will carry out site visits to take receipt of complaints and to fulfil service requests as necessary. Out of hours contact is through a 24-hour call centre provided by the Council; issues requiring urgent attention are passed to designated officers for assessment and action as appropriate.

External factors

Approximately 0.4% of the population in South Tyneside (based on 2011 census figures) do not have English as their first language or do not speak English at all, and there is a significant contingent of Chinese, Turkish, Polish, Bengali, Bangladeshi and Thai Food Business Operators (FBOs) in South Tyneside. The service will work with all FBOs to help them comply with food hygiene law, including the provision of guidance interpreted into a number of languages, the provision of interpreters, and will continue to facilitate local courses which have been successfully delivered in a number of different languages.

In particular, the service continues to offer specific Allergen, Colourings in Food and Cross-contamination advisory sessions to the Bengali and Bangladeshi communities, to further support compliance with existing and new regulations.

Officers are kept abreast of emerging food and feed safety risks of imported food by new monitoring software (Risk Likelihood Dashboard) and inland imported food checks during routine inspections and as part of the regional food and feed sampling programmes.

Seasonal or occasional food premises inspections include:

  • Premises associated with tourism, such as caravan sites, ice cream sales and Bed & Breakfast establishments
  • Farmers markets and food festivals
  • Great North Run

Regulation policy

South Tyneside Council fully supports the approach to good enforcement practice that is outlined in the Regulators’ Code that came into effect on 6 April 2014 under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006. The Council has a Corporate Enforcement Policy that aims to deliver improved regulatory outcomes, particularly those related to health, safety, crime reduction, anti-social behaviour, environmental protection and economic vitality, whilst reducing unnecessary burdens on compliant businesses and a specific Food Law Enforcement Policy that ensures enforcement action is taken in a staged manner according to risk and receptiveness to compliance.

Service delivery

Food premises interventions

At inspection, businesses are rated in respect of current adherence to food hygiene and food standards requirements. The Council uses the Food Hygiene Intervention Rating Scheme as detailed in the Brand Standard for the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme and the Food Law Code of Practice, in order to calculate risk and future inspection frequency. 6

This ensures that all premises are inspected at an appropriate minimum interval determined by their individual risk rating. This is based on the nature of food handling undertaken, the level of compliance with legal requirements and confidence in food safety management systems.

This inspection frequency varies from 6 monthly to 3 years depending on the assessed risk category:

Inspection frequencies by risk category
Risk category Frequency of inspection
A 6 months
B 12 months
C 18 months
D 2 years
E Alternative inspection strategy every 3 years

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) is operated for the benefit of the public purchasing food from premises in South Tyneside to enable them to make an informed choice based on the standard of hygiene.

Ratings of businesses within the scope of the scheme and registered in South Tyneside are given both a risk rating for inspection frequency and an FHRS rating. The inspection frequency rating is managed via the Environmental Health Information Management system (M3PP) electronic database and from this the FHRS ratings are uploaded every 7-14 days onto the National Food Hygiene Rating database, which is managed and overseen by the FSA as part of their scheme.6

Food Premises inspections are carried out according to the FSA’s Code of Practice and involve a range of interventions that are available to fulfil the competent authority’s official controls obligations. The type of intervention depends on the risk category of the food business and is tailored to ensure an adequate assessment of the ongoing risk to food safety, by a competent officer, authorised to carry out such assessment. Official controls include an option to conduct alternative interventions for lower risk premises, verification and surveillance checks as well as non-official interventions such as survey visits or advisory visits.

Self-assessment questionnaires for Category E rated premises are used by South Tyneside Council for very low risk-rated food businesses to monitor and gauge food risk activity and determine whether the business needs to go back into the physical inspection programme.

Authorised Food Officers carry out verification visits as an alternative intervention to a full or partial inspection for compliant C’s and D rated premises, to enable staff resources to be diverted to those higher risk premises not achieving good standards. For low risk premises not returning a completed questionnaire, or where changes or particular concerns are noted during the verification inspection or via complaints or other intelligence implying non-compliance, then a physical visit or inspection will be initiated.

The Environmental Health Information Management system (M3PP) is maintained to manage all food and feed premises records, all inspections and other related activities. It is anticipated that a new additional software system (Assure) will be brought on-line within the next 12 months, to supplement the existing database, and provide more functionality to better facilitate customer interaction with the service. The team is committed to the ongoing development of the Council’s website to further improve communication with food businesses and the public.

The team aims to undertake interventions within 28 days of the due date for Category A-C rated premises, 56 days for Category D premises and 28 days following notification of a new business operation. However, due to recent circumstances and the lockdown timeframes for many food businesses during the Covid pandemic, many of these interventions have not been achieved, creating a significant backlog. The FSA has produced a roadmap of priority workloads for Competent Authorities, to enable targeting of delivery of official controls for 2021/22.

Although in draft format as at April 2021, it removes the burden of completing interventions in lower risk and compliant food businesses during this period in order to focus on delivery of the high risk official controls and response to complaints/alerts, numbers of which are likely to be elevated as a result of the extended lockdown periods and changes in operating practices by some food business operators. Priority will therefore be given to higher risk premises (Band A, B and C), non-broadly compliant premises, new high-risk food businesses, and emerging food hygiene and safety risks based on complaints and intelligence received. The electronic database will be maintained to ensure that it reflects the premises profile in the Borough for future prioritisation of official controls in line with the Food Standards Agency’s Codes of Practice.

Enforcement action to secure compliance

Food businesses that fail to comply with significant statutory requirements are subject to secondary inspections and appropriate enforcement action in line with the Food Law Enforcement Policy and the General Enforcement Policy. This can include the service of Hygiene Improvement Notices where, for example, work detailed on a previous report has not been completed, or if serious concerns about food safety are identified during an inspection. Where conditions or practices pose an imminent risk to health, on the spot action may be taken, including immediate closure of the premises by the service of a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice.

Inspection of specialised (approved) premises

These will be undertaken by appropriately trained and authorised officers in accordance with the Food Law, Code of Practice (England) March 2021. 7 Currently the Lead Food Officer and one Environmental Health Officer are authorised to implement official controls in approved establishments. Any feed businesses requiring approval will likewise be undertaken by appropriately trained and authorised officers, under the direction of the Lead Feed Officer in Trading Standards.

Food complaints

Officers assess all complaints received in respect of food produced, stored, distributed or sold in the South Tyneside area, including contamination, fitness and durability, as well as food hygiene complaints and reported cases of food poisoning. Feed complaints are managed by the Lead Feed Officer in Trading Standards and allocated to appropriately trained and authorised food officers.

The Council operates an intelligence-led approach to enforcement and all complaints will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Relevant intelligence is uploaded on to the IDB Intelligence Database to disseminate information to other enforcement agencies and bodies who oversee regulatory functions in other food related fields, trans-border and internationally.

Localised food safety incidents that come to light that may have more far reaching consequences are reported to the FSA’s National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) 8 or to the local NFCU Representative. Matters for further action will be investigated in accordance with work instructions and, where appropriate, the Council’s Enforcement Policy.

Investigations are usually made in consultation with the local authority with responsibility for the company concerned, the Primary Authority for the national food chain where applicable, 9 or the manufacturing premises where the problem may have originated. This approach is intended to ensure that all parties are kept informed, any ‘due diligence’ defence is identified and that any further action taken is based on investigation findings and information received.

Complaints about food businesses trading within the Borough are expected to remain at a similar level to 2019/20 pre-Covid levels and will be met from within existing resources.

Home and Primary Authority Schemes

The Council is committed to developing good relationships with food businesses in the area, and where appropriate, establishing Home or Primary Authority Partnership agreements. Although there are currently no formal agreements in place, the Council does operate an informal home authority arrangement with a large multi chain retail/catering business whose manufacturing site is located in the Borough.

The Council recognises the importance and benefits to all parties and will actively seek opportunities to develop effective partnership agreements as they arise. The Council is also mindful of the potential impact on resources from this work and will endeavour to recover any additional costs through the permitted charging regime.

Officers regularly check the Better Regulation Delivery Office database of existing Primary Authority Partnerships and have regard to any inspection or sampling plans for premises operating in South Tyneside for which they have a duty to consult under BEIS Primary Authority Statutory Guidance. 10

Officers contact the appropriate regulatory authority when considering enforcement action against food businesses outside of the Borough and food officers will also endeavour to meet requests from other local authorities for information or to support investigations in relation to food complaints arising from food produced in South Tyneside. Such matters will be fully investigated in partnership with the business concerned with a view to ascertaining the cause of the complaint and preventing a recurrence. Full reports are provided to the local authorities concerned.

Food safety advice and training

The team provide advice and support to all food businesses, voluntary groups, charities and members of the public. The service will target training on key food safety matters to specific groups within the food sector where a need has been identified. The service will also refer food businesses to appropriate training bodies to assist their staff to gain sufficient knowledge to achieve high standards of food hygiene at work, in the community and at home.

The Service regularly undertakes valuable work with food businesses in the borough to educate food business operators and food handlers on their obligations in respect of allergen labelling and the provision of suitable information for the public. The service aims to continue to deliver this and other priority food standards work into 2021/22, both from existing and additional resources.

Food and feed sampling

The Service operates a food/feed sampling and analysis programme to monitor food standards, both compositional and microbiological, in the local food/feed supply and will also assist with national surveillance programmes. The team will investigate food complaints made by the public as necessary and food may be examined or analysed, and action taken as appropriate with the producer or retailer.

Informal microbiological sampling

Programmed sampling is carried out to:

  • determine the microbiological safety of food produced and sold in South Tyneside,
  • determine trends in microbiological quality,
  • to ascertain whether handling, processing and storage techniques are satisfactory and
  • to determine the effectiveness of cleaning and disinfection.

Samples are taken in accordance with the team’s work instructions. The sampling programme comprises two parts:

  • The South Tyneside sampling programme which consists of samples of high-risk food from producers or caterers in the area.
  • The ‘NE Regional Food Sampling Group’ under the direction of the ‘North East Food Liaison Group’ and the Public Health England Laboratory in York, establishes a programme of targeted sampling carried out in conjunction with six other local authorities in the region - Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, Gateshead, Sunderland and Durham. It is intelligence led and focuses sampling on environmental factors or food/feed of interest that has come to the national attention. For example, new or novel foods coming onto the market, raised concerns about infectious disease and plausible sources of infection, imported food of national interest or emerging risks identified from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed. (This is a European electronic database set up to exchange information about serious risks detected in imported or exported food or feed and is a useful intelligence tool to direct resource and attention).

All Microbiological food samples are collected and transported to York by a PHE appointed courier for examination. All costs for this service are currently met by the PHE’s budget. All food and feed samples, to be subject to analysis for non-microbiological contamination, are collected and transported to the Metrological Laboratory in Gateshead, as a holding facility, for collection by the Public Analyst courier.

Currently there is a food and feed sampling budget for 2021/22 of £10,000 to cover the cost of this service. Although previous years have seen a significant underspend of this budget due to staffing issues, it is anticipated that more targeted sampling to support the non-official intervention programme in food businesses will be undertaken in 2021/22, increasing spend in this area of work. The costs for directed surveillance on specific food and feed sampling projects are generally funded by the North East Trading Standards Association, through government funding, freeing up the Council budget for local issues of concern.

Formal examination and analysis

Formal food samples are collected by an Authorised Officer of the Council and submitted for formal examination by a Food Examiner provided by the Public Health England laboratory at York. The Food Examiner then provides a written report as to its microbiological safety and compliance with food safety guidelines.

Should the need arise, food/feed samples or items requiring formal analysis of compositional safety or as a result of suspected contamination/substitution from a non-microbiological source, may be sampled, taken or seized by an Authorised Officer and sent for formal testing and examination by the Council’s appointed Public Analyst. The Public Analyst also issues a report as to their findings and whether the sample conforms to legal parameters, directing the Food/Feed Officer’s next course of action. Informal and formal samples are taken and handled in accordance with the team’s work instructions.

Water samples

Water samples of public and school swimming pools are collected in conjunction with South Tyneside Council’s Leisure services team. Private commercial pools and hydro-therapy baths, and water and ice samples from approved premises, are also subject to microbiological examination on a scheduled basis.

All of the above sampling activities are met from within existing resources, with the cost of informal food sample analyses funded by a credit system operated by the York Public Health England laboratory. Current and consistent allocation for South Tyneside remains at 10382 credits, with the cost of food, water and environmental samples ranging from 10-35 credits depending on the complexity of the test.

Control and investigation of outbreaks and cases of food related infectious disease

The team work closely with Public Health England (PHE) now known as UK Health Security Agency, to investigate sporadic and linked cases of gastrointestinal illness and outbreaks.

In the event of sporadic cases this is usually achieved by completing telephone questionnaires with each case, requesting targeted information to identify the potential source of the infection and to give advice to prevent further spread within the family household and through the community setting from employment contacts. This screening aims to identify potential outbreaks and promote good hygiene practices and to analyse information gained from the investigation.

Where telephone investigations are not feasible, officers carry out home visits or hospital visits to ascertain information from the case or close family.

Complex or potentially linked infections are investigated in association with neighbouring Local Authority officers where cases of infection cross boundaries, and in conjunction with the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control/Consultant in Health Protection/Regional Epidemiologist/Unit Director at Health Protection Agency North East, who act as the Council’s Proper Officer for the reporting, investigation and overseeing of notifiable diseases.

Outbreak investigations are carried out in accordance with the team’s work instructions, PHE’s Outbreak control guidelines for the specific disease, and where appropriate the South of Tyne Outbreak Control Plan. Investigations of outbreaks can be extremely time consuming and take priority over other work. Historical data indicates that typically 250 cases of gastrointestinal illness are formally notified to South Tyneside’s Environmental Health team each year from laboratory test results. This figure was 253 for 2020/21. Investigation of notified reports of suspected or confirmed cases of infectious disease in 2021/22 will continue to be met from within existing resources.

The food team has led the Council’s business-related pandemic response both in respect of COVID compliance and Early Outbreak Management through the initial stages of lockdown. In addition, the team has continued to deliver on the FSA official controls priorities during this period, as some food businesses and manufacturers continued to trade. As restrictions on the operation of business continue to be eased, the team will continue to remain at the forefront of outbreak management in businesses, working closely with Public Health colleagues.

Food safety incidents

All food safety incidents and food alerts notified by the FSA are handled in accordance with the team’s work instructions and requirements of the Food Law Code of Practice (England).

The team maintain a dedicated mailbox to receive all such notifications; this is regularly monitored during the day. Food Alerts for action are treated as high priority and are responded to within 24 hours, with any required action given priority. Where action is required, this is usually carried out in conjunction with members of the NE Food Liaison Group to ensure consistency. This work continues to be met from within existing resources.

Liaison with other organisations

South Tyneside Council is a member of the NE Food Liaison Group (NEFLG), which meets approximately 5 times a year and the North East Trading Standards Group (NETSA) 4 times a year. These groups provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and new initiatives and to develop a consistent approach to all aspects of food/feed law enforcement and service delivery, as well as the development of guidance and best practice. It also provides a vehicle for liaison with other agencies (such as North East Trading Standards Intelligence Team, Food Standards Agency, the National Food Crime Unit, Public Health England, North East Public Protection Partnership) and other groups such as the National Food Liaison Group and sub regional food sampling groups. The NEFLG and NETSA also maintain strong links to other regional county groups in the North of England and national groups. The Council is also represented on the North East Environmental Health Group, which maintains a more strategic overview in the region.

Food safety promotion and non-official controls

South Tyneside Council having adopted the National Food Hygiene Rating scheme in 2012, continues to promote the benefits of a rating of 3-5 to food business operators and the public, during programmed visits and through promotional activity.

The effectiveness of the scheme is evaluated by periodically monitoring the proportion of premises in the higher rating bands and promoting those food businesses in local advertising campaigns.

Food officer competency

The competency and quality of work conducted by authorised food officers in the Food Team is subject to checks and audits in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice. Interventions and recorded work of all inspection staff is regularly monitored in accordance with the team’s work instructions, with staff only allocated work for which they are deemed competent and subsequently authorised to undertake.

New staff, or those that have been absent for a specific period are subject to supervision until deemed competent, as are those duly authorised consultants that have been brought in to deliver aspects of the inspection programme as required. Competence criteria and additional training to ensure staff compliance with the Food Law Code of Practice will be assessed by the Lead Food Officer who will monitor the staffing requirements necessary to deliver the Food Law Service Plan and meet the official control duties laid out in the Food Law Code of Practice.

In-house training sessions, consistency and peer review exercises, together with 1-2-1 management meetings provide support and direction to staff on service delivery and ensures consistency of approach for businesses and customers across the region. Additional formal training is carried out in conjunction with the North East Food Liaison Group, the North East Public Protection Partnership, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and digital courses hosted by the FSA and their associated training providers. In order to maintain competency and deliver certain official food/feed controls in accordance with the Codes of Practice, a minimum 20 hours of continued professional development is required - 10 of which must be in the specialist field of service delivery.

In-house training is also provided in relation to information technology, the various electronic databases used by the food/feed team and the M3PP Environmental Health Information Management System as necessary.

Feed officer competency

Training in essential core competencies is maintained through in-house training and in conjunction with our various regional partner agencies and external training providers, to ensure authorised officers meet the competency requirements as detailed in the Feed Law CoP.

Training for officers undertaking feed hygiene duties is primarily co-ordinated through the NETSA Animal Health Group for the region. This will continue throughout 2021/22.

In addition, all feed hygiene enforcement officers have access to up to date reference material via dedicated websites, including Knowledge Hub forums and groups, Department for Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the FSA. All officers engaged in feeding stuffs enforcement complete their mandatory 10 hours CPD each year. Officers that have been absent for more than 3 years will be subject to training and supervision until deemed competent in both food and feed duties.

Premises profile

Number of food premises

As at 31st March 2021, there were 1294 food premises on the South Tyneside food database.

The table below shows the number of food businesses in each premises category.

Number of food businesses per category
Premises category Total number of premises in category
Producers 5
Manufacturers/Packers 12
Importers 3 but no. Incl in other categories
Distributors 14
Retailers 298
Restaurants and Caterers 806
New food business applications 158
Total 1296

At 31st March 2021, the breakdown of food businesses, by category in the area was as follows:

Breakdown of food premises
Priority Premises category Premises Score Frequency of Inspection Total number of premises in Category
A High 92 or higher 6 months 0
B High 72 to 91 12 months 36
C High 52 to 71 18 months 241
D Low 31 to 51 24 months 396
E Low 0 to 30 Alternative interventions (36 months) 465
Outside Programme Other 1
Total 1297

Food standards

The FSA have also established a planned intervention inspection frequency for food standards related activities in food businesses, again based on the level of risk and compliance in relation to labelling/advertising and the nutritional and compositional contamination of food products. Interventions for high risk rated premises are limited to physical inspections only and lower risk rated premises may be subject to alternative interventions such as sampling or other targeted/project-based controls.

At 31st March 2021, the breakdown of food businesses, by category in the area was as follows:

Food businesses per category
Priority Premises category Premises Score Frequency of Inspection Total number of premises in Category
A High 92 or higher 12 months 0
B Medium 72 to 91 24 months 36
C Low 52 to 71 60 months 241
Unrated New premises within 28 days of registration 255
Other Fallen out of the inspection programme To be reassessed 764
Total 1296

Feed premises

Businesses (including primary producers) supplying, handling, selling, transporting and distributing feed products for food animals are subject to inspection and official controls as defined in the FSA Feed Law Codes of Practice and associated guidance, in the same way as food. 11 Interventions and enforcement action is conducted in much the same way by authorised Environmental Health feed officers under the direction of the Lead Feed Officer, Trading Standards.

At 31st March 2021, the breakdown of feed businesses, by category in the area was as follows:

Feed businesses by category
Business type/premises category Total number of premises in category
R5 Marketing compound feed 1
R6 Manufacturing pet food 0
R7 Manufacture and marketing of feed materials 17 (1 unrated)
R8 Transport 1
R9 Storage 6
R10/11 mixing on farm feed with additives 0
R12 co-products/by-products as feed materials 1 (unrated)
R13 Livestock farms no additives 9 (1 unrated)
R14 Arable farms food/feed 6 (3 unrated)
Total 42

In South Tyneside there are currently no feed businesses subject to Approval controls for the operation of high-risk feed activities. Based on revisions to the Feed Codes of Practice risk rating and inspection programme, those lower risk rated feed businesses falling into the R13 and R14 category that are current members of a recognised assurance scheme, are subjected to the national targeted monitoring strategy (NTMS). This means that only a percentage of these inspections are required each year based on the proportion of total premises numbers within the Borough.

Inspections
Priority Premises category risk Premises Score Frequency of Inspection Total number of premises in Category
A High 147 -200 12 months 0
B High 122 to 146 24 months* 0
C Satisfactory 106 to 121 36 months* 0
D Low 85 to 105 48 months * 3
E Low 0 to 84 60 months** 33
Unrated Other 6
Total 42

* except where Type 1 earned recognition applies

** except where Type 1, Type 2 earned recognition or NTMS applies

Feed inspections and sampling are carried out in conjunction with the national feed surveillance programmes based on priorities identified nationally 12, emerging risks and intelligence from a variety of sources. Funding for much of the feed inspection programme is supplemented through the North East Trading Standards Association (NETSA) and central government funding.

Currently there are 9 crop farms registered with Type 1 recognised assurance schemes within the Borough and 1 livestock farm. Based on the numbers of feed businesses, the priorities of the feed inspection programme in accordance with the Feed Law Codes of Practice and regional surveillance recommendations, approximately 4-6 premises are subject to routine official feed inspections/interventions per year.

Imported food controls

Food Import Official controls fall to the Port Health Authority to manage and oversee in accordance with the Official Food and Feed Control Regulations. These are managed by Tyne Port Health Authority under the direction of North Tyneside Council.

Inland imported food and feed controls fall to the Authority in whose boundary the food/feed resides when subjected to the official control. In the case of Imported Feed coming into the Port of Tyne, the responsibility for Official Controls rests with the riparian port Authority, which is in this case South Tyneside.

Regular checks are conducted with the Port’s Head of Operations and incoming ship manifests are monitored against the Destin8 shipping transport database on a regular basis, to assess the level of imported feed material/products activity and therefore the need for more directed resource to officiate the necessary feed controls. No known feed imports have been identified in the last 24 months requiring official controls.

Enhanced surveillance has been conducted over the last 3 months, following Brexit, to determine whether there has been a corresponding increase in activity. There is no current evidence to suggest feed imports activity has changed at the Port or is likely to over the next 12 months.

Performance monitoring

Interventions at food establishments 2020/2021

Food Hygiene Interventions undertaken in 2020/21 (by category of premises) in accordance with the FSA’s priority action plan for official control delivery during Covid lockdown and restrictions, and taking in to account the risk to officers performing these official controls, were as follows:

Food hygiene interventions 2020/21
A B C D E Unrated TOTAL
0 18 40 46 85 37 226

Other than E rated businesses, these figures do not take account of revisits, telephone and surveillance checks, advisory emails and other remote interventions undertaken by the team to monitor activity and food safety risk during the pandemic. A number of business that closed early in the pandemic unfortunately had not reopened by the end of the accounting period and so have been rolled over into the 2021/22 inspection programme.

Inspection programme 2021/22
Category Number of Inspections due 2020/21 Number of inspections undertaken Percentage completion
A 0 0 n/a
B 27 18 67%
C 224 40 18%
Total High Risk 251 58 23%
D 381 46 12%
E 464 85 18%
Total Low Risk 845 131 15.5%

The FSA priorities for 2020/21 were delivery of official controls in relation to Approved premises and high risk non-compliant 0-2 rated food businesses.

FSA priorities 2020/21
Category and FHRS non-compliant 0-2 rated businesses Number of businesses due an intervention in 2020/21 Number of inspections undertaken Percentage completion
0 0 n/a
B 6 4 (2 remained closed during lockdown) 100%
C 12 6 (6 remained closed during lockdown) 100%

Number of revisits in 2020/21

22 revisits were recorded for food hygiene and safety related matters to check for compliance and to determine the need for more formal intervention.

Requests for service

Requests for service include concerns regarding the condition of premises, or food with microbiological or physical contamination

Requests for service
Hygiene of Premises Food Complaints Other Food Related Enquiries
97 83 43

Enforcement action (premises) 2020/21

Informal Warnings
8
Improvement Notices
3
Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notices
0
Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Orders
0
Voluntary Closure
0
Seizure, Detention, Voluntary surrender of food
0
Simple Cautions
0
Prosecutions
0

Inspection letters and reports for high risk premises, detailing a schedule of works to aid future compliance and to identify the non-conformities witnessed during the inspection, are generated for all food business operators following a full inspection. Business operators are given the opportunity to respond to the inspection report and to request further advice by returning an operator’s response form in a prepaid envelope or electronically. This is considered an effective tool for communicating and improving the quality of the service.

Food standards interventions are generally conducted alongside the food hygiene inspection where businesses are due or overdue in the programme. Reduced staffing resource over recent years has meant that consultants have been used to backfill some of the lower risk food hygiene inspection programme, and consequently the Food Standards inspections that run alongside these visits have not been conducted. Furthermore some food standards sampling intervention programmes planned for 2020-21 to address some of the backlog were unfortunately put on hold due to the pandemic. This has meant that the Food Standards Inspection programme has developed a significant backlog.

It is anticipated that the new Food Standards Inspection/Intervention pilot which is running with a select number of Food Authorities from January 2021-Dec 2021 will require all food businesses to be re-rated according to the new risk rating criteria. It is hoped that by targeting resources, we will be in a better position to deliver official controls according to the new system going forward.

Additional site visits to food businesses were undertaken throughout 2020-21 to ensure they were operating in accordance with the various Covid Emergency Regulations and were implementing COVID secure measures. Businesses were assessed against the relevant safe operating guidance for retail, restaurants, takeaways and the hospitality sector and formal action was taken to close or restrict some activities where non-conformities were considered to present significant and imminent risk to the public.

Interventions at feed establishments 2020/2021

Food Hygiene Interventions undertaken in 2020/21 (by category of premises) in accordance with the FSA’s feed intervention plan during Covid lockdown and restrictions were as follows:

Food hygiene interventions 2020/21
Business Type/Premise category Number of Inspections due 2020/21 Number of inspections undertaken Percentage of interventions completed
R05 1 1 100%
R07 3 3 100%
R13 1 1 100%
R14 1 1 100%

Priorities for 2021/22

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to affect delivery of the Food Inspection Programme throughout 2020-21 and will continue to do so as we move into the recovery phase. The impact on Food businesses generally and particularly the licensed trade has been devastating. The true impact will not be known for some time – some businesses may have ceased to trade on a permanent basis, whilst others have quickly adopted new business models, including providing takeaway and delivery services. Visits to premises were limited to those categorised as high priority; taking into consideration the infection risks to staff and the risk of onward spread.

The FSA continued to update Competent Authorities to direct them on their priorities in relation to official control delivery over the course of 2020-21, with 14 Covid-19 Local Authority Enforcement notifications. Resources were targeted and redirected to try and meet the changing demands.

In the early stages of the pandemic, alternative non-official interventions were piloted with lower risk food businesses to try and assess the food safety risks associated with those food businesses that were still trading. Restricted access and changes to trading practices of some other food businesses requiring official interventions has meant that although some programmed inspection work has continued throughout 2020-21 there has been a large backlog of inspections carried forward to the 2021/22 programme.

As lockdown restrictions have lifted, many of the previously rated satisfactory compliant business which have not had the support and direction of food officer intervention, are beginning to show a deterioration in hygiene and safety standards. The full effect of this will not be known until all high and medium risk rated businesses have been visited.

Standard priorities

  • Ensure adequate arrangements are in place to deliver the Food Hygiene Inspection programme 2021/22, including the backlog of inspections carried forward from 2020-21 in accordance with the FSA’s priority delivery programme scheduled to March 2023.
  • Deliver the Food Inspection Programme for 2021/22 and include for the delivery of more risk-based, proportionate, targeted and cost-effective Official Controls.
  • Ensure adequate arrangements are in place to deliver the Food Standards Inspection programme for 2021/22 and to provide increased focus on food standards related enforcement activity.
  • Ensure adequate arrangements in place to deliver the Feed Inspection programme for 2021/22 and ensure staff are given sufficient instruction and training to meet the competency requirements to deliver the required feed official controls in South Tyneside, and to take appropriate enforcement action where necessary.
  • To ensure adequate arrangements are in place to continue to provide services to local businesses reliant on local authority expertise and support post Brexit, particularly in relation to the provision of Export Health Certification. Delivery of such services will be kept under regular review against consideration of impact on other priorities for the Food service.
  • To review and update all food related work instructions / policies following changes to legislation and operating practices.
  • To ensure implementation of the requirements of the FSA’s revised ‘Regulating our Futures’ programme to modernise food safety enforcement and ensure it is sustainable for the future.
  • To adopt the additional requirements of the FSA competency framework and ensure sufficiently competent and authorised staff are maintained within the food team to deliver the required official controls in accordance with the Codes of Practice.
  • To continue to monitor the resource allocated to food safety enforcement to ensure it is adequate to meet the demands of the service, including carrying out new food business interventions in a timely manner.
  • To continue to provide effective food and feed registration interventions prioritising high-risk and non-compliant premises
  • To continue to carry out follow-up interventions to 0, 1 and 2 food hygiene rated premises to secure improvements.
  • To continue to use the full range of enforcement tools available to protect the safety, health and welfare of visitors, residents and workers within the borough and to support compliant businesses.
  • To continue to participate in the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme
  • To improve’ self-help’ information available to businesses/public
  • Sampling food, water and environmental conditions in accordance with the agreed NE Food Liaison Group / PHE sampling programme.
  • To investigate notifications of infectious disease / suspected outbreaks as appropriate.
  • To continue working with businesses to promote understanding of the requirements of the Food Information Regulations 2014.
  • To maintain provision of food safety training and advice for targeted food businesses on key food safety matters, including allergens.
  • Greater targeting of enforcement at higher risk businesses and those persistently failing to comply.
  • Providing more information to consumers on food safety standards and food premises (e.g. Food Hygiene Rating Scheme)

Additional priorities for 2021/22

  • To increase emphasis on inland imported food standards checks and sampling of imported food to improve intelligence and better future targeting of risk-based inspections.
  • To re-prioritise delivery of the official controls for the food hygiene and standards inspection programme in accordance with the Food Standards Agency’s roadmap for recovery following the Covid pandemic. It is the intention to ensure that ‘local authority resources can be targeted where they add greatest value in providing safeguards for consumers and where the focus is on securing compliance in persistently non-compliant businesses.’ These priorities will start with addressing the backlog of inspections of all new business registrations based on risk, conducting official interventions in all high-risk A rated hygiene establishments by September 2021 and in all B hygiene rated and A food standards rated businesses by June 2022.
  • To ensure better use of the Intelligence Database to further inform and direct official control interventions and provide useful intelligence to other agencies for action.
  • To maintain enhanced monitoring of imported feed activity through the Port to assess the need for more official controls and subsequent intervention.
  • To review service delivery processes and utilise the range of existing and new official controls interventions to better manage resource within the service. For example, increasing the use of ‘Alternative Enforcement Strategies’ and non- official controls for lower risk rated businesses.
  • To adopt, implement and maintain the Food Standards Agency’s new competency framework and ensure staff are trained and authorised according to the new requirements from April 2022.
  • To review and consider changes needed to the Environmental Health Information Database M3PP in order to maintain and deliver the new official intervention programme for food standards following the outcome of the FSA pilot in 2021/22, due to be rolled out nationally in April 2023.
  • To maintain the Environmental Health Information Database M3PP to ensure reliable and accurate statistical records are provided for freedom of information requests, data returns to enforcement/ reporting agencies and to internal departments on the activities of the food/feed law service team.
  • To consider additional functions to better inform the service of changes in business activities in the Borough and the changing nature of some business operations following the pandemic, such as database checks of new importers based in South Tyneside, social media monitoring to identify new home caterers, on-line sales and food brokering.
  • To upgrade the existing Environmental Health Information Database M3PP food functionality to enhance customer facing service provision (ASSURE). Some additional resource will be required to facilitate the transition which will be met within the wider Environment Service.

Programmed interventions 2021/22

During 2021/22 the following programmed interventions are anticipated:

Programmed interventions 2021/22
Risk category Number of anticipated interventions
A 0
B 36
C 160 (11 x 0-2 ; 46 x 3 rated)
D 301 (1 x 0-2 ; 18 x 3 rated)
E 194
Unrated new businesses at 31.3.21 159
Total Due 850

In addition, it is expected that approximately 150 new Food Premises Registrations will be received in 2021/22, as a result of changes to ownership and new businesses opening. The team aim to inspect these within 28 days of receiving the application, or 56 days in the case of low risk activities.

It is estimated that at least 57 revisits will be required during 2021/22 based on previous years activity and approximately 5-10 food hygiene re-rating requests.

Visits will also be carried out following receipt of complaints from the public. In 2020-21 223 complaints were received relating to hygiene, food and feed handling matters. This number remained consistent despite the Coronavirus pandemic as many food businesses remained open in some capacity or changed their operating practices. It is anticipated that the gradual easing of restrictions on business will result in an upward trend in complaints of this nature.

Demand in the form of requests for advice, is likely to remain stable in the current year. Business support for new and existing businesses, sign posting, and targeted advice is given freely electronically. Businesses requesting a more detailed consultancy service can book an advisory visit, which is a paid for service. This can cover a range of food safety/hygiene related matters including building design, as well as nutritional/ labelling/compositional standards.

Routine food safety interventions are used as an opportunity to raise awareness of health issues in relation to food, to promote healthier food choices and locally sourced food. Unfortunately, it is not anticipated that it will be possible to allocate time to these added value initiatives in the coming year due to the necessary focus on other priority elements of the pandemic recovery.

Programmed feed interventions 2021/22

The FSA, working in conjunction with the Trading Standards Institute, coordinates a national project to deliver a national feed intervention programme. As part of a collaborative funding approach NETSA has been awarded £84,454 for 2021/22. South Tyneside’s share of the funding is £1,345 to be used for the purposes of targeted intervention visits. This work will be undertaken at a mix of farm and non-farm premises. Non-farm premises include supermarkets that provide surplus food into the feed chain and businesses which transport feed and feed products.

Inspections
Business Type/Premises category Number of Inspections due 2021/22
R07 3
R08 1
R13 2

Quarterly visits to the port are also conducted to assess potential feed imports and to plan resource for official feed controls. The NETSA budget is also used to fund the cost of these visits as well as the electronic shipping Destin8 database.

Resources

Financial allocation

Total expenditure on the food service is relatively stable, however it is acknowledged that additional resources will be required in order to deliver planned interventions for 2021/22 alongside a programme enabling the backlog of outstanding Food Hygiene and Food Standards inspection work to be addressed.

Staffing allocation 2020-21

In 2020-21 the staffing allocation for the food team comprised 6.5 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Authorised Food Officers available to deliver the Food Law Service.

All Food EHO’s and Technical Officers have over two years’ experience in food matters and are fully competent in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice to carry out the majority of the functions of the food service.

The fluctuating nature of lockdowns, health and safety limitations and pressures of other service demands within the Environmental Health Team whilst supporting the Council’s Covid response and undertaking compliance checks, meant that staff were redirected away from inspection priorities for a significant period. Although the priority Official Food Controls were delivered, the routine inspection programme was halted, with focus shifted primarily to addressing high and emerging risks in the Borough’s food catering sector.

Proposed staffing allocation 2021/22

Public Health Funding Allocations have helped to secure an additional full-time specialist Food Environmental Health Officer in the Team to fulfil the range of Official Food Controls for a 2-year period, starting from December 2020. Once complete, the competency assessment for this officer will enable full authorisation powers afforded to this post. This has allowed the existing Authorised Lead Food Officer to take on more management responsibility for the Team including the development and implementation of IT and Policy upgrades in order to maintain conformance with the Food Law Codes of Practice.

Furthermore, one of the qualified part-time Environmental Health Officers in the food team is expected to take maternity leave from August 2021.

In order to address the potential shortfall in staffing levels required to deliver the existing programme of inspections for 2021/22, maintain the commitments to businesses requiring additional resource to continue trading with the EU and to address the backlog, further funding is being sought.

Quality Assurance

Monitoring and consistency

A documented internal monitoring procedure in accordance with the Food Law Code of Practice and centrally issued guidance will be reviewed and updated annually. 13 This set out how the Competent Authority carries out risk-based internal monitoring to fulfil its official obligations under EU 2017/625. These internal monitoring records are kept for a minimum of 2 years as required by the Codes of Practice.

Monitored inspection and case file record checks are recorded on the worksheets on the Environmental Health database in addition to the Lead Officer conducting joint intervention visits to premises with individual officers. The Lead Officer also conducts case load meetings and audits specific premises interventions carried out by officers to inform the training requirements and needs of the service.

Visits to food and feed establishments are recorded and any feedback highlighted to the officers concerned as part of the peer review process.

As part of the Brand Standard operating guidance for the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme 14, the FSA conducts annual consistency exercises. This is to ensure that officers rating food businesses continue to apply the scores consistently in various settings and scenarios and in accordance with the requirements of the scheme. Annual returns on activities are provided to the FSA to demonstrate the Authorities’ participation in these exercises.

Complaints about the service of the Competent Food Authority are logged on the Corporate Complaint system managed by the Council’s Information and Feedback team. All actions are monitored and reviewed by this team.

All temperature monitoring equipment used by the service is subject to annual and accredited calibration checks, managed and overseen by the Food Safety Officer.

Staff development plan

South Tyneside Council wants every employee to have a clear understanding of where they fit in the organisation and how they contribute to its success. The Council operates a Continuous Performance Management Cycle, which includes regular 1-2-1s, team meetings, check-ins and Annual Review. The process provides opportunities to set and review objectives and/or work tasks, to consider personal development, training needs and to manage employee health and wellbeing. The findings are included in staff development and training plans.

A competency matrix has been developed in line with the requirements of the Food Law Code of Practice and training needs are regularly assessed. Action plans to ensure that officers are fully competent commensurate with their assigned activities, will be delivered during the current year. Individuals will receive specific training where appropriate and all food-specialist Environmental Health Officers are to complete a minimum 20 hour Continuing Professional Development (including 10 hours food-specific).

The Service cooperates regionally through the Food Liaison Group and with the Food Standards Agency in order to source low cost training. Training days /sessions are programmed as necessary. Any inexperienced officers assigned to food work are supervised and receive training commensurate with the Code of Practice. Officers engaged in feed work will undertake training provided by the FSA and the Chartered Training Standards Institute.

Review

Review against Service Plan

The Lead Food Officer will monitor progress with a review of the plan to be undertaken mid-year to consider achievements against targets, and progress with the backlog, together with projected activity required following legislative changes, FSA priorities and changes to the food business landscape.

It is expected that the Council’s on-going role in response to the pandemic and recovery will continue to impact the operation of Environmental Health services, not least the food service, indefinitely. The food service will need to remain agile; to provide a regulatory response on Covid business enforcement matters as needed, to work closely with the Council’s Public Health team to contain outbreaks in the community and primarily workplaces; to provide on-going regulatory advice and support to local businesses through the pandemic recovery phase and to take appropriate enforcement action where there is a notable decline in standards.

Identification of any variance from the Service Plan

The priorities outlined in section 12 of this Food and Feed Law Service Plan will dictate the work focus of the team for 2021/22. It is expected that the team will continue to deliver a level of Covid response, which is likely to fluctuate as the year progresses but will almost certainly continue to impact on delivery against priorities.

The Service will continue to make every effort to recover the position through 2021/22 using a combination of in-house resource, external contractors, officers on fixed-term contracts and newly allocated resource where possible.

Areas of improvement

  • Upgrade the existing Environmental Health Information Database M3PP food functionality to enhance customer facing service provision (ASSURE). Some additional resource will be required to facilitate the transition which will be met from within the wider Environment Service.
  • Additional, administrative resource would provide support to the team and free up existing qualified staff to deliver on the priorities of the current and new inspection programmes. A dedicated resource would assist in the development of a document management system and a system of reporting and workflow tools to support internal monitoring procedures. Further food officer resource will also be required to assist with the backlog of inspections and to provide the necessary maternity cover for the 0.6 FTE position. It is possible temporary funding may be obtained to increase resources in the short term, however it is acknowledged that competency restrictions and the time challenges of training staff to deliver on the official food controls and to meet the basic statutory functions laid out in the Codes of Practice, means that the full benefit of additional posts will not be realised in the short-term. There is a need to secure longer term funding for permanent staff.
  • Additional funding has been allocated this year for the recruitment of external support to assist our current staff in completing the planned programme of interventions, plus the accumulated backlog, up to the end of this financial year.
  • A new sampling budget has been included within the Environmental Health Team’s budget for the 2021/22 financial year, and an appropriate allocated staffing resource will ensure we can fulfil commitments to local and regional sampling plans.
  • Ensure adequate arrangements are in place to deliver the Food Standards Inspection programme for 2021/22 and to provide increased focus on food standards related enforcement activity.
  • In line with previous years, we continue to determine and target workload priorities, matching to the resource available in order to deliver and maintain the best achievable levels of public health protection. We will continue to consider and trial as appropriate, innovative methods of service delivery and the development of alternative approaches to business engagement, agile working, service redesign and a fit for purpose business operating model which will ensure that the most appropriate officers are tasked with the right work, commensurate with their training and competence.

Further information

Local Authority food enforcement statistics are published at https://data.food.gov.uk/catalog/datasets/069c7353-4fdd-4b4f-9c13-ec525753fb2c

The FSA relaxed the requirement for submission of annual enforcement data via the Local Authority Enforcement Monitoring System (LAEMS) for 2020-21. However, local authorities were asked to submit information on outstanding interventions and premises profiles to assist the determination of future priorities in dealing with the backlog of interventions built up during the COVID 19 pandemic. It is expected that further guidance to local authorities to direct onward targeting of work will be issued by the FSA in due course.

For further information on the content of this plan or delivery of South Tyneside Council’s Food and Feed Law Service please email environmental.healthmailbox@southtyneside.gov.uk

Footnotes

  1. Regulation (EU) 2017/625 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products
  2. The Food Law Code of Practice (England) (the Code) is issued under Section 40(1) of The Food Safety Act 1990, Regulation 6(1) of The Official Feed and Food Controls (England) Regulations 2009 and Regulation 26(1) of The Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013
  3. https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/national-enforcement-priorities-for-animal-feed-and-food-hygiene
  4. https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/document/FSA-Strategic-plan-2015-2020.pdf
  5. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/913510/14-705-regulators-code.pdf
  6. https://ratings.food.gov.uk/
  7. https://www.food.gov.uk/about-us/food-and-feed-codes-of-practice
  8. https://www.food.gov.uk/contact/businesses/report-safety-concern/report-a-food-crime
  9. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-regulation-primary-authority
  10. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/primary-authority-statutory-guidance
  11. https://www.food.gov.uk/about-us/food-and-feed-codes-of-practice
  12. https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/national-enforcement-priorities-for-animal-feed-and-food-hygiene
  13. Article 12(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625; Chapter 2, paragraphs 19.1 and 19.3 of the Framework Agreement
  14. https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/food-hygiene-ratings-for-businesses