Service Charter

What the Environmental Health Food Safety Service does:

One of the areas of activity in the Environmental Health Service is Food Safety. There are over 600 food premises within Hart District subject to food legislation, where Hart:

• advises about food safety
• inspects all food premises for compliance with the law  
• samples and arranges for analysis of food to ensure that it’s safe  
• investigates complaints about the fitness of food  
• takes formal action against offenders where other action is unsuccessful

Our Standards

We undertake to:

• respond immediately on receipt of food hazard warnings about dangerous foods, and within three working days for other food hazard warnings  
• investigate cases of food poisoning within three working days of being notified
• respond to complaints about contaminated or mouldy food within three working days of notification  
• respond to complaints about the standard of food premises within seven working days  
• inspect food premises regularly according to the safety risk to the public
• respond within three working days of receipt of other requests for service, although for letters, which often contain more complex requests, we will respond within a maximum of ten working days
• listen to your problem and explain the possible courses of action. An appropriate course will be agreed with you
• ensure that all complaints are, unless otherwise agreed, treated in confidence
• keep you informed about the progress of the investigation
• advise you of the outcome of the investigation and any action taken to resolve your request
• try to advise you of the options available to you if we’re unable to help with your enquiry  
• carry out surveys to discover the underlying needs of our customers

We strive always to provide a quality service.

For advice on food safety please contact us on 01252 774421 or at eh@hart.gov.uk