Agenda item

The Committee was informed that the Food Standards Agency (FSA) set minimum standards of performance which all local authorities responsible for food law enforcement were expected to meet. The Local Authority Audit Scheme was the process by which the FSA conducted a qualitative assessment of local authority performance.

A focussed audit of the controls the Council’s food service had in place to deal with Incidents and Alerts had been carried out in July 2015. Members noted the FSA’s audit report, which reflected the positive feedback which had been delivered by the auditors during their visit. The Executive Summary of the report stated that “the Authority was found to be delivering a range of food law enforcement activities in accordance with the statutory obligations placed on the Authority as a competent food authority. These were generally delivered according to prescribed timescales by experienced professional staff.”

The FSA had made 4 recommendations which had been agreed with the Council. Two of these recommendations had already been completed and submitted to the FSA for approval. Of the 2 outstanding, the recommendation relating to the service plan containing clear information on resources would be addressed in the next Food Safety Service Plan and the recommendation concerning a review of the enforcement plan would be addressed shortly.  

RESOLVED to note the contents of the Food Standard Agency’s Audit Report.