Issue - meetings

ES 16008

The Review of the Food Safety Service report was written and presented by Dr Paul Lehane, Head of Food Safety, Occupational Safety and Licensing. Karen Ryan (Food Lead Practitioner) also attended to answer questions. Mr Lehane commenced by stating that we took food for granted. He also referred to Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”, where food was classified as one of the basic biological and physiological needs for humans. 

The report reviewed the role and performance of the Food Safety Service, and set out the Council’s legal (statutory) roles and responsibilities under both domestic and European law--in the context of the local, national and international regulatory regimes. Mr Lehane stated that it was a frank and honest report. The Food Safety Team were managing and doing a good job but were struggling with a backlog of work due to a lack of resource. The Service was not broken, but it would not take much to break it. 

The Committee were informed that the primary objective of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) was to protect public health from risks which may arise from the consumption of food. This included risks caused by the way in which food was produced and supplied. It also had a generic remit to protect the interests of consumers in relation to food. The FSA was the lead body set up in 2000, and LBB were a statutory food authority. The FSA aimed to ensure that:

·  Food was safe, and is what it was supposed to be

·  The public had access to an affordable diet

·  The public would be able to make informed choices about what to eat

The Committee were concerned at the statistics concerning the number of people in the UK that were hospitalised each year by food poisoning, and that in many cases these incidences resulted in fatalities. It was also the case that much food was mislabelled.

The Committee were troubled to hear that evidence suggested that increasing pressures on the food supply system meant that food security and sustainability for the future would be more volatile.

Mr Lehane explained to the Committee that the main role of LBB’s Food Safety Team was to enforce food safety law. The food laws that required enforcing were:

·  Food Safety Act 1990

·  Food Hygiene & Safety (England) Regulations 2013

·  Official Feed and Food Controls (England) Regulations 2009

·  Plus 50 additional statutes.

The Committee heard that the key responsibilities of the Food Safety Team were:

·  To register food businesses

·  To approve certain types of business

·  To maintain accurate records

·  To appoint competent staff

·  To prepare an annual Food Safety Plan

·  To make inspections and take enforcement action if required

·  To investigate complaints

·  To sample food for analysis

·  To provide advice and guidance for businesses

·  To Promote food safety

Mr Lehane informed the Committee of activities that were no longer undertaken as a result of savings made during 2015. 

Five Key facts were drawn from the report which were:

·  There were approximately 2300 food businesses in Bromley

·  This  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48