If you purchase a food item in this borough which is out of its’ use-by date, mouldy or contains a foreign body you may make a formal complaint to the Environmental Health service.
Food complaints brought to the Council's attention will be investigated for evidence of physical, chemical or biological contamination. If the food is mislabelled or it is a quality issue then Surrey County Council’s Trading Standards team enforce the law and we will pass the complaint to them for investigation.
If you are unsure who the correct enforcement agency is, please contact us and we will ensure that the correct people receive your complaint. We can be contacted at Tel: 01784 446291; e-mail: environmental.health.commercial@spelthorne.gov.uk
Which food complaints will we investigate?
We will investigate further depending on the nature of the complaint, the Officers’ professional opinion and previous knowledge of similar complaints.
At the outset it will be explained to you that we cannot get you a refund for your food. At this point you can decide whether to pursue the food complaint through us or to return it to the food business where you bought it for them to invetigate the matter.
Witness statement
When a complaint is received, we will obtain as much information as possible from you about the circumstances of purchase and the discovery of the complaint.
A 'Witness Statement' may be taken from you. This is a formal, signed account taken in accordance with the 'rules of evidence' so that if needed we can present it to a court of law. Asking you for a witness statement does not mean we will prosecute, it merely helps us collect information appropriately whilst it is fresh in your mind. If you are not willing to provide us with a Witness Statement or be willing to appear in Court your complaint will only be informally investigated in order to give appropriate advice to the manufacturer.
Due diligence
Food safety offences are 'strict liability' offences in that we do not have to prove that there was an intention to break the law. However, this is offset by allowing the food company a 'due diligence' defence. This defence allows the offender to be found 'not guilty' if he can prove that he took all reasonable steps to prevent the offence occurring.
This means that we have to investigate what steps have been taken to ensure the safety of the food and whether more could have been done. This is usually done in co-operation with the local authority in the area where the food was manufactured. Most of the large major manufacturers have looked at all parts of their manufacturing processes and have thought of all possible risks. This means that there is often little chance of a successful prosecution.
Informal action
Most complaints are dealt with informally, because the evidence we have is not sufficient to satisfy a court of law 'beyond all reasonable doubt', because the offender has a good 'due diligence' defence or because the complaint is deemed too trivial to be in the public interest to prosecute. However, most manufacturers investigate complaints seriously to prevent any possible further occurrence and are concerned about both food safety and their public image and will offer their apologies and often a small amount of gift vouchers as recompense.
Formal action
In the event that the investigating officer is confident that an offence has been committed, appropriate evidence is available and the company do not have a due diligence defence, formal action will be considered; this may be issuing a Formal Caution or prosecution, having regard to the Borough of Spelthorne Enforcement Policy.
Time scales
These investigations can, on occasion, take some months and we may not be in contact with you for some while. However if you ever want to know what is happening to your complaint, please do not hesitate to contact the investigating officer dealing with your complaint, quoting also the complaint reference number that you will have been given.
Compensation
We are not in a position to obtain compensation for you from the companies involved, nor are we able to pursue claims for personal injury. If you feel a claim is appropriate, you are recommended to seek legal advice as soon as possible. Graphical Version l
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