Joint Food and Health and Safety Service Plan 2025 to 2026
6. Quality assessment
It is recognised that as well as ensuring that premises due for inspection are actually inspected, the quality of the inspection is of equal importance. By ensuring and maintaining the quality of an inspection, it becomes a more focussed, effective tool in securing food safety.
Notices to be served and other enforcement work are verified by the team leaders or Environmental Health Manager to ensure consistency with the Enforcement Policy and compliance with the Code of Practice.
The council also has a corporate complaints procedure which forms the basis of an escalation process to managers. Such cases are reviewed and any lessons learned are discussed with team members.
| Topic | Hazards |
Potential Poor Performers within an Industry Sector |
High Risk Activities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | Lead poisoning | Indoor firing ranges/gun clubs | Ineffective air extraction, poorly managed cleaning procedures, inadequate handwashing facilities. |
| Health | E.coli/ Cryptosporidium infection especially in children |
Open Farms/Animal Visitor Attractions Note: Animal visitor attractions may include situations where it is the animal that visits e.g. animal demonstrations at a nursery. |
Lack of suitable micro‐organism control measures |
| Health | Occupational lung disease – Asbestosis/Mesothelioma | Premises build 1950-1980 where intelligence suggests risks are generally not being adequately managed. | Exposure to asbestos fibres through inadvertent disturbance or suspected poor management of asbestos exposure risk. |
| Health | Occupational lung disease - Silicosis |
Industrial retail Retail outlets cutting/shaping their own stone or high silica content ‘manufactured stone’ e.g. gravestones or kitchen resin/stone worktops |
Exposure to respirable crystalline silica |
| Health | Occupational lung disease - Cancer linked to welding fume exposure |
Industrial retail/wholesale premises e.g. Hot cutting work in steel stockholders |
Exposure to all welding fume regardless of type or duration may cause cancer. Welding fume guidance |
| Health | Occupational lung disease - Asthma |
In-store bakeries and retail craft bakeries where loose flour is used and inhalation exposure to flour dust is likely to frequently occur i.e. not baking pre-made products. Note: For supermarket and other chain bakeries etc check to see if there is a Primary Authority inspection plan with more specific guidance. |
Tasks where inhalation exposure to flour dust and/or associated enzymes may occur e.g. tipping ingredients into mixers, bag disposal, weighing and dispensing, mixing, dusting with flour by hand oR using a sieve, using flour on dough brakes and roll machines, maintenance activities or workplace cleaning. |
| Health |
Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) |
Residential care homes and provision of social care | |
| Health | Manual Handling | High volume Warehousing/Distribution | Lack of effective management of manual handling risks |
| Health | Occupational deafness |
Industrial retail/wholesale premises/Leisure Such as steel stockholders; builder’s or timber merchants, night-time economy for example pubs, clubs, nightclubs, concert venues. |
Exposure to excessive noise |
| Health | Carbon monoxide poisoning | Commercial catering premises | Badly installed or faulty appliances; lack of suitable ventilation resulting in lack of make-up air to support combustion; and/or inadequate extraction systems. |
| Health | Carbon monoxide poisoning | Commercial catering premises using solid fuel cooking equipment | Lack of suitable ventilation and/or unsafe appliances |
| Safety | Electrical Safety | Hospitality venues with ‘outdoor’ facilities | Use of appropriate outdoor electrical equipment, installed by a competent person and checked regularly for damage or water ingress. |
| Safety | Explosion caused by leaking LPG | Catering establishments. | Unsafe gas appliance installation, conversion/use of LPG cylinders and cartridges. |
| Safety | Violence at work |
Premises with vulnerable working conditions. Such as lone working, night working or cash handling for example care providers, betting shops, off‐licences and where intelligence indicates that risks are not being effectively managed |
Lack of suitable security measures/procedures. Operating where police/licensing authorities advise there are local factors increasing the risk of violence at work e.g. located in a high crime area, or similar local establishments have been recently targeted as part of a criminal campaign |
| Safety |
Fatalities/injuries resulting from: Being struck by vehicles Amputation and crushing injuries Falls from height |
High Volume warehousing/Distribution | Poorly managed workplace transport, cutting machinery, lifting equipment or work at height risks |