Inspections
Local authorities are required to carry out inspections of food businesses. These inspections are carried out within Salford by Environmental Health Officers of the Environment Directorate and you can view the latest inspection of Salford's food businesses via our "Scores on the Doors" pages.
Purpose of Food Hygiene Inspections
The primary responsibility for controlling food safety rests with the proprietor of the food business, however, environmental health officers inspect all types of food businesses to:
- Check to make sure food is being handled and produced hygienically
- Check to make sure food is safe to eat
- Identify any foreseeable risks of food poisoning or injury which might arise if the food is eaten
The objectives of the inspection therefore include:
- Determination of the business activities and the law that applies to the business
- Gathering and recording information from observations and discussions with the people involved
- Identifying the potential hazards and risk to the health of the public
- Checking the effectiveness of the controls to make the food safe
- Assessment of the management systems operated by the business
- Identifying the contraventions of food safety law
- Consideration of the appropriate enforcement action to make sure food businesses comply with the law
Planning Inspections
The local authority are required to keep a record of all food businesses and put together a programme to make sure that all food businesses are inspected on a regular basis.
Frequency of Inspections
The frequency of the inspection depends upon a number of factors that look at the risk to consumers. These include:
- The potential hazard (type of food and method of handling; method of processing; consumers at risk)
- The current level of compliance (food handling practices/procedures and temperature control; structural layout, cleanliness, facilities)
- Confidence in management/control system (company’s track record; attitude towards food hygiene and safety; knowledge; documented procedures)
- Significance of risk (potential for cross contamination; survival and growth of bacteria; documented procedures; training; required enforcement)
Once the risk has been determined the food premises are then inspected depending on the category they fall into as set out below:
| Category | Minimum of frequency of inspection |
|---|---|
| A | At least every 6 months |
| B | At least every year |
| C | At least every 18 months |
| D | At least every 2 years |
| E | At least every 3 years |
Food business can move between the categories, particularly if conditions improve or deteriorate.
Performance – how are we doing?
The performance of the service in meeting this has improved steadily over the past few years as shown in the table below:
Performance Against Local PI
| Year | High Risk Premises | Low Risk Premises |
|---|---|---|
| 1998/ 1999 | 87% | 71% |
| 1999/ 2000 | 82% | 74% |
| 2000/ 2001 | 97% | 95% |
| 2001/ 2002 | 99% | 92% |
| 2002 /2003 | 97% | 77% |
| 2003/2004 | 79% | 49% |
| 2004/2005 | 99% | 58% |
| 2005/2006 | 100% | 78% |
| 2006/2007 | 99% | 78% |
| 2007/2008 | 100% | 100% |
Aim: - To improve the level of food hygiene across Salford.
How resources are targeted:
The role of the service is to enforce food safety legislation across the city of Salford within approximately 2000 food premises. This is undertaken by using all the four approaches of the “enforcement mix”:
- Demand: - through our response to complaints/requests from both businesses and customers
- Inspection: - by undertaking approximately 1300 inspections in accordance with the Food Standards Agency's Food Law Code of Practice risk based inspection rating system
- Education: - through the running of free HACCP workshops for all businesses and assisting other training through liaison with local training bodies and guidance to businesses
- Intelligence: - through our co-ordinated sampling program, liaison with other authorities and response to requests from Food Standards Agency and LACORS
The Outcome Measure:
Our performance in this field will be tracked each year through a combination of:
1. The overall risk profile of the food businesses within Salford at 1st April:
| Year | A | B | C | D | E | F | Total Inspected | Total No of Premises |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 184 | 379 | 740 | 240 | 227 | 126 | 1100 | 1977 |
| 1995 | 182 | 368 | 730 | 253 | 239 | 128 | 694 | 1977 |
| 1996 | 182 | 359 | 720 | 236 | 269 | 136 | 727 | 1977 |
| 1997 | 180 | 361 | 708 | 232 | 283 | 144 | 845 | 1977 |
| 1998 | 146 | 495 | 776 | 192 | 190 | 126 | 989 | 1977 |
| 1999 | 93 | 421 | 786 | 275 | 234 | 117 | 1086 | 1977 |
| 2000 | 81 | 436 | 753 | 291 | 244 | 123 | 851 | 1977 |
| 2001 | 64 | 340 | 882 | 263 | 270 | 110 | 1222 | 1977 |
| 2002 | 37 | 301 | 935 | 295 | 242 | 112 | 1366 | 1922 |
| 2003 | 39 | 267 | 953 | 286 | 244 | 112 | 1311 | 1923 |
| 2004 | 40 | 260 | 962 | 283 | 234 | 102 | 1066 | 1881 |
| 2005 | 27 | 335 | 868 | 260 | 338 | N/A | 1379 | 1837 |
| 2006 | 41 | 299 | 913 | 266 | 335 | N/A | 1287 | 1854 |
| 2007 | 28 | 306 | 898 | 247 | 341 | N/A | 1343 | 1822 |
| 2008 | 34 | 282 | 929 | 235 | 363 | N/A | 1337 | 1843 |
(Note:- from 28th October 2004 Risk Group F merged into Risk Group E)
2. The number of broadly complaint premises at 1st April:
| Year | Broadly Compliant | Percentage | Not Compliaint | Percentage | Total Inspected | Total No of Premises |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2008 | 1425 | 77.3% | 418 | 22.7% | 1337 | 1843 |
| April 2009 |
See the Scores on the Doors pages for information on up to date compliance information for individual premises and their current hygiene rating.
3. The level of HACCP compliance using the 8th HA compliance indicator on the food hygiene risk profile:
| Year | HACCP | Hazard Analysis | None | Blank | Total Inspected | Total No of Premises |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2003 | 150 | 723 | 682 | 368 | 1311 | 1923 |
| April 2004 | 158 | 744 | 774 | 205 | 1066 | 1881 |
| April 2005 | 145 | 713 | 864 | 110 | 1379 | 1837 |
| April 2006 | 151 | 708 | 924 | 71 | 1287 | 1854 |
| April 2007 | 211 | 696 | 890 | 25 | 1342 | 1822 |
| April 2008 | 291 | 666 | 825 | 61 | 1337 | 1843 |
These will allow the service to measure improvements in the compliance/management of food premises over time.
The overall aim will contribute to Salford City Council’s pledges and Community Themes and assist with the FSA’s requirements and their strategy of reducing the incidence of foodborne illness by 20% by improving food safety right through the food chain.
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This page was last updated on 08 April 2008
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