Food
What is Food?
Food is anything that we consume including sweets drinks and bottled water. The term does not include tap water, medicines, vitamins and health supplements.
Food businesses
The Council has a duty to routinely inspect all food businesses operating within the area. All food businesses must register with the local authority in whose area the business is based.
This is intended to ensure that the Council has an accurate up to date list of the owner or operator of all food businesses in the area.
The inspections monitor the various premises to ensure that the operators of businesses understand the importance of good hygiene practices and that food is prepared in clean premises.
If you operate a food business and have unsaleable food, for example as a result of a freezer breakdown, you can obtain a voluntary surrender certificate from the Council.
Training
As part of this process the Council offers food hygiene courses for food handlers and also assists other training organisations with similar training programs. Courses are offered at various levels that reflect the needs of the different types of food businesses (telephone 01322 343374 or email customer.services@dartford.gov.uk)
Sampling
The quality of food sold to customers is monitored through a food sampling programme. The programme targets food types known to support food poisoning bacteria. In most cases the food sample is taken in exactly the same way as it would be bought by a member of the public buying their weekly shopping or buying a meal from a restaurant or take-away.
Complaints
The investigation of food complaints is a role shared by Environmental Health Services and Kent County Council, Trading Standards.
Environmental Health deals with complaints relating to unfitness or the quality of the food such as the presence of a foreign body in the food (telephone 01322 343374 or email customer.services@dartford.gov.uk). Trading Standards deal with labelling complaints such as misleading descriptions or the sale of out of date food.
See Food Safety regarding general food safety information.