food safety service plan 2021-22

Regulatory Services Statutory Regulatory Services Statutory Plans 2021-22 – Appendix A Plans 2021-22

West Northamptonshire Council – Food Safety Service Plan 2021-22

Food Safety Service Plan 2021-22



Document Version Control Author (Post holder title): Ed Cooke, Environmental Health Manager: Health Improvement (Daventry) Type of document: Service Plan Version Number: 1.0 Document File Name: FS Service Plan 2021 22 v1.0.docx Issue date: 30 July 2021 Approval date and by who (CMT / committee): Cabinet 14 September 2021 Document held by (name/section): Ed Cooke, Regulatory Services For internal publication only or external also: To be published on the West Northamptonshire Council Website Document stored on Council website or Intranet: Council website Next review date: Annual Plan

Change History

Issue Date Comments

0.1 - Draft 6 July 2021 Issued for internal consultation

1.0 – Final draft 30 July 2021 Feedback received and incorporated from internal consultees

1.1 Final 23 August 2021 Incorporating formatting and style amendments following consultation with communications team

NB: Draft versions 0.1 - final published versions 1.0

Consultees

Internal External

e.g. Individual(s) / Group / Section e.g. Stakeholders / Partners /Organisation(s)

Ruth Austen None

Liz McCarthy

Louise Faulkner

Stuart Wheeldon

Distribution List

Internal External

e.g. Individual(s) / Group / Section e.g. Stakeholders / Partners /Organisation(s)

Ruth Austen None

Liz McCarthy

Louise Faulkner

Stuart Wheeldon

Links to other documents

Document Link

None



Document Link

Contents

Section Page

1.0 Foreword 4

2.0 Service aims and objectives 5

3.0 Background 6

4.0 Demands on the Food Safety Service 10

5.0 Food Safety Service Delivery 2021/22 12

6.0 General Service Issues 17

Appendix 1: Food Safety Service Performance Measures

19



1.0 Foreword 1.0.1 The following plan outlines how West Northamptonshire Council’s (WNC) Regulatory Services intends

to deliver and improve its food safety services from 1 April 2021 through to 31 March 2022. 1.0.2 It is the inaugural Food Safety Service Plan for the council and has been designed in order to enable

effective performance monitoring of the service and to facilitate continuous improvement. An inevitable delay in the planning process has arisen from the necessary COVID-19 response.

1.0.3 Regulatory Services sits within the Place, Economy and Environment Directorate and also delivers

services in the following areas:

Trading Standards Building Control Occupational Health and Safety Licensing Primary Authority and Business Support Environmental Protection and Environmental Crime

And provides oversight of the Emergency Planning and Traveller Unit services hosted by North

Northamptonshire Council. 1.0.4 The following plan covers Food Safety as required by the Food Standards Agency. In many cases,

however, the services are intrinsically linked, and service provision will often be cross-pollinated in order to maximise effectiveness and efficiency. The food safety performance indicators are included at Appendix 1.

1.0.5 The food safety service is actively involved in harmonization throughout the council transition

process. Although adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the service is progressing well with COVID recovery to fully restore its services and adapting to new ways of working.

Ruth Austen

Assistant Director Regulatory Services



2.0 Service aims and objectives 2.1 Aims and objectives 2.1.1 The food safety service aims to:

assist the achievement of corporate objectives; conduct its business in a consistent, fair, and transparent manner; target the service in terms of risk to health and even-handedness, so serving to provide a ‘level

playing field’ for local businesses; and satisfy consumer expectations of good standards in the district.

2.1.2 It intends to achieve these aims by the following means:

The use of robust performance and quality management to improve the quality of services; The use of new technology to improve efficiency and customer access to services by using,

where practicable, the contact centre; Access to services can be made via the contact centre, website, telephone or e-mail in addition

to traditional means; Utilisation of the latest innovations in technical equipment where possible to lead to improved

service; and Working with external and internal service areas partnerships.

2.2 Links to corporate objectives and priorities 2.2.1 The council has a comprehensive service improvement and performance management process. The

Food Safety Service Plan feed into the following areas of the Council’s Corporate Plan 2021-2025 - https://www.westnorthants.gov.uk/your-council/corporate-plan

Improved Life Chances: Health, Social Care and Families e.g. robust implementation of the Food Standards Agency's E Coli O157 Guidance; implementation of the Eat Out Eat Well Award scheme

Thriving Villages and Towns: Place shaping and Homes e.g. provision of food safety training courses for local businesses/individuals

Economic Development: Growth and Prosperity e.g. provision and development of Primary Authority and Business Support to local businesses



2.2.2 Through a wealth of interventions including education/training, promotion, enforcement, audits/inspections, sampling, and consultation, the food safety team aims to continually improve its services in order to assist the council to achieve its corporate objectives.

3.0 Background 3.1 Profile of the Local Authority: West Northants in Numbers



3.2 Profile of the Local Authority: West Northants by Area



3.3 Executive Leadership Team

3.4 Place, Economy and Environment Directorate



3.5 Regulatory Services (expanded Environmental Health)

4.0 Demands on the Food Safety Service 4.0.1 As of 1 April 2021, West Northamptonshire Council has 3564 categorised local food businesses and,

as of 1 July 2021, there were 542 new food businesses that are awaiting inspection. The risk category profile is as follows

Risk Category

A B C D E Total New businesses awaiting

inspection

Area

Daventry 0 5 103 341 506 955 79

South 3 16 153 357 332 861 123

Northampton 2 113 456 654 523 1748 340

Total 5 134 712 1352 1361 3564 542

4.0.2 Intervention frequency is the minimum that the council is required to carry out in accordance with

the Food Standards Agency Food Law Code of Practice (England). Food hygiene intervention frequencies A at least every 6 months B at least every 12 months C at least every 18 months D at least every 2 years E alternative enforcement strategy There are 23 EC approved premises that are able to export food beyond the EC as shown in the table below.



List of approved food premises and type of establishments approved by West Northamptonshire Council

Approval number

Trading Name Postcode Scope Area

DX 003 Brixworth Foods NN6 9PD Processing Plant (Meat) Daventry

DX 011 OTG Foods Ltd NN6 9RH Cold Store Meat Preparation Establishment

Daventry

DX 012 The Clipston Egg Company LE169TT Packing Centre (Egg) Daventry

DX 016 E V Cargo Logistics Ltd NN6 7GX Cold Store Daventry

NM 002 Classic Cuisine NN3 6RT Meat Preparation Establish-ment Processing Plant (Meat)

Northampton

NM 005 Houghton Hams NN3 6AX Processing Plant (Meat) Northampton

NM 007 TMI Foods Ltd NN5 7US Meat Preparation Establish-ment Processing Plant (Meat)

Northampton

NM 010 Cooked Meat Company Ltd NN3 8RJ Processing Plant (Meat) Northampton

NM 013 Union Foods Ltd NN3 6NN Meat Preparation Establish-ment Processing Plant (Meat)

Northampton

NM 016 CC Foods Limited NN3 6HY Cold Store Northampton

NM 018 LTA Foodservices Ltd NN36HY Cold Store Northampton

NM 020 Greencore Northampton NN3 1RX Processing Plant (Meat) Pro-cessing Plant (Dairy) Pro-cessing Plant (Egg) Processing Plant (Fish) Re-Wrapping and repackaging establishment

Northampton

NM 021 Collins Fresh Foods Ltd NN3 6UR Collection Centre (Dairy) Cold Store Processing Plant (Meat) Processing Plant (Dairy)

Northampton

NM 022 Altis Catering Ltd NN3 6UR Cold Store Northampton

NM 025 Adugs Foods Ltd NN48HQ Cold Store Northampton

TW 003 Meister Continental Foods Ltd NN13 7AX Meat Preparation Establish-ment Processing Plant (Meat)

South

TW 007 Echo Foods Ltd NN7 3DW Cold Store (Meat Products) South

TW 009 Fulwell Foods Ltd NN13 7ES Towcester South

TW 010 Appletree Products and Services NN11 6UG Processing Plant (Dairy) South

TW 013 College Farm (Mr T. Judd) NN13 5SD Packing Centre (Egg) South

TW 014 Garry Penn Ltd OX17 2HJ Packing Centre (Egg) South

TW 015 Lime Tree Farming NN12 7RZ Packing Centre (Egg) South

TW 016 Smith & Clay Ltd NN13 7DP Mince Meat Establishment Meat Preparation Establish-ment Processing Plant (Meat)

South



5.0 Food Safety Service Delivery 2021/22 5.0.1 The Food Standards Agency (FSA) principally directs the food safety service delivery through its

framework agreement. The service head is Ruth Austen, Assistant Director Regulatory Services. The lead food safety officers responsible for the three areas are:

Daventry: Ed Cooke, Environmental Health Manager: Health Improvement, E:

[email protected] South: Stuart Wheeldon, Health and Environmental Protection Manager E:

[email protected] Northampton: Liz McCarthy, Senior Environmental Health Officer (Food and Safety) E:

[email protected] 5.0.2 All members within the regulatory services team who have food safety responsibilities shall have

ready access to Food Standards Agency information together with relevant legal encyclopaedias.

5.1 Food Premises: Hygiene Inspections 5.1.1 West Northamptonshire Council follows the priority rating system identified in the FSA Food Law

Code of Practice (England). 5.1.2 Interventions consist of, inter alia, questioning the food business operator and employees to discover

their knowledge of food hazards and ability to control them. In addition to assessing relevant documentation, Officers will also physically inspect the food premises, including food items, and observe food handling practices and procedures.

Inspection profile for the year beginning 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 – including the

backlog of inspections pre 1 April 2021

Interventions scheduled

A B C D E Total

Area

Daventry 0 2 37 175 77 291

Daventry – Backlog (pre 1 April 2021)

0 2 54 110 191 357

South 5 14 63 162 108 352

South - Backlog (pre 1 April 2021)

1 1 38 90 4 134

Northampton 1 24 150 260 203 638

Northampton - Backlog (pre 1 April 2021)

0 56 169 324 220 769

Total 7 99 511 1121 803 2541

5.1.3 Category A premises are those that pose the highest risk; this may be because of the nature of the

activities and/or poor operating conditions. The minimum intervention frequency for the different categories of premises is given below. Food businesses receive interventions more than this where required. The Council uses proprietary software (Northgate M3 Public Protection) for logging and tracking all interventions.



5.1.4 Revisions in the Code of Practice enable Local Authorities to deal with low risk premises (Category E) by means other than an inspection. Regulatory services intend to utilise alternative inspection strategies to deal with these premises throughout the year.

5.1.5 Revisits are made to food premises where there are concerns about food safety identified during a

primary visit. 5.1.6 Hygiene improvement notices will be issued if work detailed on a previous intervention report has not

been completed or if there are serious concerns about food safety during a primary visit. The legal notices assist to ensure that improvements are made within a reasonable timescale.

5.1.7 Hygiene emergency prohibition notices are used where there is an imminent risk to health. This

would normally lead to immediate closure of the premises. Reasons for taking this action could include the discovery of pest infestations, the absence of water, or very poor control of food hazards and/or cleaning. A prosecution may follow against the business involved.

5.1.8 The outcome of routine food hygiene inspections will be displayed on the Food Standards Agency

(FSA) Food Hygiene Rating website (http://ratings.food.gov.uk/) and window stickers issued to food business operators in accordance with the National FSA Food Hygiene Rating scheme.

5.1.9 The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant adverse impact on the council’s ability to carry out the

food safety service throughout 2020-2021. As with many other council’s, food safety officer capacity was redeployed to respond effectively to the pandemic. The Food Standards Agency recognised this and has provided direction to Local Food Authorities throughout; essentially leading to the focus on the very highest risk food safety interventions whilst deferring planned interventions. The FSA Board has recently agreed a Local Authority Recovery Roadmap which provides direction on re-starting the regulatory delivery system in line with the Food Law Code of Practice for the highest risk establishments while providing greater flexibility for lower risk establishments.

5.1.10 The Recovery Roadmap takes account of the following points:

Numbers of ‘new’ food businesses have significantly increased and, although some may never have started trading and others will have ceased trading, the risks associated with them remain largely unknown.

Some existing businesses may have changed hands while others may start up to capitalise on potential additional trade from staycations etc. this year.

Existing businesses will gradually be re-opening, many after prolonged closure, as restrictions on businesses in the hospitality sector on eating onsite are lifted, while others will continue to diversify activities to adapt to ongoing changes in the market.

The highest risk establishments – which represent a relatively small proportion of the total number of establishments – may have missed one, two or, in a very small number of cases, three planned interventions.

Local authority resources have been – and in many cases still are – diverted during the pandemic to activities related to reducing the spread of COVID-19.

Local authorities are anecdotally reporting that significant resource is currently being used for non-statutory, but important, wider government priorities such as export certification.

Local authorities are also anecdotally reporting that in some cases hygiene standards have reduced since the onset of the pandemic.

5.1.11 The following illustrates the FSA expectations and timescales included within the Recovery

Roadmap.



5.1.12 The Lead Food Officers for the three areas shall continue to work collectively in order to ensure that

FSA expectations are met and exceeded if resources allow.

5.2 Support to Businesses 5.2.1 The council shall provide appropriate and competent advice/support, through a variety of different

means, to local businesses and residents, within its resource constraints. Much of the advice is made available through the council website - www.westnorthants.gov.uk. Some charged discretionary enhanced support services are offered.

5.2.2 Food safety/hygiene advice shall be routinely given as part of an intervention and is complimented by

the use of mail shots, national/local campaigns and promotional activities when required. Advice is also given out upon request when food business registration may well not be required e.g. pop-up food outlets.

5.3 Food Sampling 5.3.1 Food sampling is an integral part of the food hygiene intervention process. 5.3.2 Microbiological food sampling is carried out to meet 4 main objectives:

To determine the current state of food safety in the West Northamptonshire area as part of a structured sampling programme;

To improve the effectiveness of food hygiene interventions;

To investigate suspect cases of food poisoning where a link with a local business or food is suspected, and

To investigate complaints about food.



5.3.3 The formal food sampling plan links with the European Commission and the Public Health England Regional sampling plan as well as taking account of local/county trends and needs.

Number of microbiological samples

2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21

Area

Daventry 126 83 46 0

South 25 103 41 75

Northampton 0 27 0 0

Total 151 213 87 75

5.4 Infectious Disease Control 5.4.1 General practitioners across the area report suspected cases of food poisoning to the Consultant for

Communicable Disease Control (CCDC) at Public Health England. The local medical microbiological laboratories also advise the CCDC of positive results for food poisoning and food/water related illness. In turn, the regulatory services team are advised so that they can carry out investigations to discover the source of infection.

5.4.2 Documented procedures are available for the management of the investigations of outbreaks of food

borne infectious disease. The procedures were developed and are regularly reviewed with the CCDC and other regional local authorities.

Number of individual investigated cases (informal and formally notified)

2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21

Area

Daventry 163 93* 77 19

South 231 110 60 29

Northampton 145 166 145 189

Total 539 276 282 237

5.5 Food Safety Incidents 5.5.1 The Food Standards Agency declares National food safety incidents from time to time and notifies

food authorities of these by means of a ‘Food Alert’ procedure. Some notifications require directed action, whereas others are for information only. The council ensures that all directed action is carried out.

Number of National Food Alerts received (issued to all Local Authorities, so all three areas

received the same number of Food Alerts) 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21

158 186 164 129

* Although surveillance continues, Public Health England ceased notifying East Midlands local authorities of individual cases of Campylobacter in July 2018 due to there being little benefit in following up such cases. This has led to a

marked reduction in this trend from previous years. Nevertheless, local authorities will be informed of significant

exceedances or clusters.



5.6 Liaison with other Organisations 5.6.1 The Council is a member of the Northamptonshire food liaison group. The group aims to:

Act as a forum to provide consistency of enforcement; Act as a facilitator for benchmarking activities, and Provide exercises to facilitate consistency.

5.6.2 Other links include:

Public Health England (East Midlands) Building and development control service teams (regarding any development within the Dis-

trict); Care Quality Commission (regarding residential care home); Office for Standards in Education (regarding school and nursery provision), and Police and fire authority (regarding licensing matters).

5.7 Promotion and Education 5.7.1 Regulatory services will contribute to the national ‘Food Safety Week’. Activities are based around

raising public awareness of food safety and hygiene issues. 5.7.2 As a registered training centre, the council offers a range of both taught and e-learning food safety

course.



6.0 General Service Issues 6.1 Resources

2021/22 budget

Area

Daventry

Staffing £96,642

Transport £5,655

Supplies and services

£5,874

Income -£3,196

Net Expenditure £104,975

South

Staffing £154,537

Transport £3250


£3850

Income -£8000


Northampton

Staffing £188,175

Transport £2,891


£3,722

Income -£1,980


Total Net Expenditure

£451,420

6.2 Staffing Allocation 6.2.1 (Senior) environmental health officers have holistic responsibilities for food safety, occupational

health and safety and health improvement. This approach facilitates a broad approach to the protection of the health of the public within the area.

6.2.2 Much of the food safety team consists of environmental health practitioners and is complimented by

specialist officers and regulatory support officers. All environmental health officers possess a BSc or MSc in Environmental Health and are Chartered Practitioners.

6.2.3 The following table details the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) required to provide the services outlined in

this service plan. Unexpected demands on the service, such as vacancies, complex legal cases or the requirement to ensure virulent organisms (e.g. Escherichia coli O157) are adequately controlled, have illustrated that lesser-risk interventions may well suffer. Services will be re-prioritised to high-risk based interventions accordingly.



Area Food Safety Establishment

Daventry

1.75 FTE Environmental Health Manager 0.25 FTE (Senior) Environmental Health Officer 0.5 FTE Higher Food and Safety Officer 0.75 FTE Health Improvement Technical Officer 0.25 FTE

South

3.16 FTE Health and Environmental Protection Manager 0.3FTE Environmental Health Officer 1.5FTE Technical Officer 0.9 FTE Regulatory Support Officer 0.46 FTE

Northampton 3.5 FTE Environmental Health Manager 0.25 FTE (Senior) Environmental Health Officer 1.75 FTE (Senior) Food and Safety Officer 1.5 FTE

Total 8.41 FTE

6.3 Enforcement Policies 6.3.1 An enforcement policy (the Policy) is in place to cover all environmental health functions. It sets out

the general principles and approach that the Council will follow when considering enforcement action. 6.3.2 The policy takes account of the Regulators’ Code (the Code) published by the Better Regulation

Delivery Office of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The Code is underpinned by the statutory principles of good regulation, which provide that regulatory activities should be carried out in a way, which is transparent, accountable, proportionate and consistent and should be targeted only at cases in which action is needed.

6.4 Staff Development Plan 6.4.1 Every year development discussions shall be held with all members of staff and in light of the service

plan objectives, action plans are drawn up for each individual. Action plans detail the training and development needs of the individual to meet service requirements.

6.4.2 Staff will cascade training received, as appropriate, to increase the knowledge base of colleagues. 6.4.3 Staff will carry out Continued Professional Development in order to help maintain their competence.

6.5 Quality Assessments 6.5.1 Documented procedures help to ensure that the services provided by the regulatory services team

are subject to continual improvement. 6.5.2 Published service standards are monitored on a regular basis.



6.6 Review against service objectives 6.6.1 This service plan pulls together significant information about the council’s food safety service

activities. 6.6.2 Performance indicators and service objectives shall be reviewed on a monthly basis through one 2

ones between the service managers responsible for the food safety service and the Assistant Director regulatory services.

Appendix 1: Food Safety Service Performance Measures

1. % of food establishments in the area which are broadly compliant with food hygiene law – Target: 95%

2. % of establishments rated Category A, B and less than broadly compliant Category C and D that have received an onsite intervention – Target: 80%

3. % of new businesses prioritised as high risk that have received an onsite intervention – Target: 80%

4. % increase in income from discretionary enhanced support services – Target: 25%

food safety service plan 2021-22

Documents