Which? fires warning of decline in food testing by councils

Local authority food checks are in decline with overall food testing falling by 6.8%, research by Which? has claimed.

Analysing the 2012/13 Local Authority Enforcement Monitoring System (LAEMS) hygiene database collected by the Food Standards Agency, the consumer organisation also found that:

• testing for labelling and presentation was down by 16.2%; and
• food standards investigations had fallen by 16.5%.

Which? reported that there was “huge variation in the levels of food standards nationally”, with work to check food standards – such as the accuracy of food labels – “particularly patchy”.

It named Bexley Council as the poorest performing authority. Four other London boroughs appeared in the bottom 10. Cherwell District Council was rated as the top performer.

Bexley was one of seven councils who did not carry out any official hygiene sampling, Which? said.

These rankings were based on three criteria: the proportion of premises ranked as high or medium risk in a local authority that were broadly compliant with food hygiene requirements; the percentage of premises yet to receive a risk rating; and the proportion of inspections and other follow ups that were required but not carried out by local authority inspectors.

The Which? report urged the Government, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and local authorities to take action in five areas:

1. A joined up and coherent approach: “There needs to be a consumer-focused, joined up approach across policy areas. Responsibility for food labelling and standards policy should be returned to the FSA and it should ensure there is a system for sharing intelligence and co-ordinating activity across all local authorities.”
2. Anticipating threats and problem areas: “The FSA needs to work more effectively with local authorities, the food industry, stakeholders as well as the EU and other countries to understand the vulnerabilities of supply chains and anticipate threats in order to help target enforcement resources. More local authority food testing is also needed.”
3. More strategic use of resources and expertise: “The FSA needs to work with local authorities to ensure effective collaboration and sharing of expertise, ensuring there is adequate expertise to deal with more complex businesses. Costs of inspection should also be recovered from all food businesses.”
4. Ensuring independence and prioritising consumer interests: “As some councils move towards privatisation of services and a more collaborative approach is taken between businesses and local authorities, it must be ensured that consumer interests are put first. Inspections should be based on the risk of a business, but backed up with unannounced inspections.”
5. Tougher sanctions and incentives for compliance: “Penalties must be increased for businesses who don’t comply with the hygiene standards and the FSA must step up its support for local authorities and have the powers to intervene in complex and national cases. It should be mandatory for all business across the UK to display food hygiene ratings.... and all local authorities should be required to be part of the national schemes.”

Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said: “No one wants another horsemeat fiasco, so it is very worrying that local authority food checks are in decline.

“We want to see a more strategic approach to food law enforcement that makes the best use of limited resources and responds effectively to the huge challenges facing the food supply chain.”

Responding to the report, Cllr Nick Worth, the Local Government Association’s regulation spokesman, said: “Councils are working hard to maintain and improve food safety standards despite the pressure that significant government funding cuts are placing on everyday services.

“Random sampling is just one tool available to councils and a reduction in testing does not mean an increased safety risk to the public. Targeting high-risk businesses and acting on complaints is a far more effective use of their limited resources and also allows councils to free up responsible businesses from unnecessary inspections and red tape.”

Cllr Worth added: “It is ultimately the responsibility of food manufacturers, retailers and suppliers to ensure the products they produce or sell comply fully with food law, are fit for consumption and won’t risk public safety.”