Agenda item

The Committee considered a report containing the draft Food Safety Service Plan for 2021/22.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) required all local authorities to have a Food Safety Service Plan which set out how national priorities and standards in respect of food safety would be addressed and delivered at a local level.  The drafting of the Plan had been delayed to enable officers to take the guidance and advice in the FSA’s Covid-19 Local Authority Recovery Plan (2021) into account.

It was reported that there were 706 food businesses in Surrey Heath which were subject to inspection by the Council’s food safety service.  Over the course of 2020/21, the Council’s Food and Safety Team had carried out 136 on-site food safety inspections, investigated 57 complaints about food or food premises and investigated 75 reports of food borne infectious diseases.  The number of inspections had been lower than in previous year due to disruption caused by the Government’s pandemic restrictions however it was considered that the service was well placed to ensure that food inspection programme was fully realigned with the original required inspection frequencies by the end of March 2023.

It was reported that 96.6% of the borough’s food premises were currently classified as having a Food Hygiene Rating of 3 (Satisfactory), 4 (Good) or 5 (Very Good) with 78% having achieved the highest rating of 5.  It was agreed that a breakdown of businesses in each rating category would be circulated.

It was confirmed that there had been no increase in the number of incidents of food poisoning being reported in the last year when compared to previous years.

The Committee commended the work of the officers to deliver such a comprehensive service over the course of a particularly difficult year.

RESOLVED that the Food Safety Service Plan 2021/22, attached as Annex A to the report, be approved.