Food complaints

Our Environmental Health team investigate food complaints where the food has been manufactured, purchased or consumed from a premises within our area of responsibility. Officers will investigate complaints based on the risk to public health.  

We take enforcement action according to the council's food and safety enforcement policy, operating procedures, statutory codes and guidance. 

The law requires that any food:

• is what is described (the nature)
• does not contain any other matter or foreign objects (the substance)
• is fit for human consumption, with due regard to any further processing (the quality)

Where the complaint is that the food is not of the nature demanded by the consumer, then the matter is handled by Trading Standards and the complaint should be made through Citizens Advice.

Environmental Health Officers at the council can deal with complaints that a food is not of the substance or the quality demanded. 

Common food complaints

Discovering a foreign object in food or other problems with food can be a very unpleasant experience. However, not all pose a serious health risk. Here are some common food complaints, together with a short explanation and suggestions for the best course of action. 

The information provided in the document is intended as a self-help guide for residents and local businesses to help solve common issues that occur routinely in items of food.

If you are unable to resolve the problem after reading our self-help guide, please contact us at foodandsafety@eastcambs.gov.uk 

Complaints about date coding

Use by date - a use by date is a legal requirement. It indicates that the food will be unsafe to eat after that date. Once the date has passed, it must not be sold or offered for sale. Complaints can be made to foodandsafety@eastcambs.gov.uk 

Best before date - a best before date is a quality guarantee. The manufacturer guarantees the product will retain its normal characteristics of odour, taste and consistency. It is not an offence to sell food beyond a best before date, although this should be brought to the purchaser's attention.

Frozen on or expiration date - these are for information only and carry no legal status. 

Complaints about the condition of food premises

We will respond to complaints about food premises where they relate to food safety. For example:

• poor levels of cleanliness
• poor handling practices
• pest problems within the premises

We require as much information about your concerns as possible. You must provide your name and contact details, the name and location of the business in question and the date and time you witnessed the problem. All information provided is strictly confidential and is necessary should formal action be considered. If you have concerns about hygiene standards in a food premises, please contact foodandsafety@eastcambs.gov.uk 

Food poisoning

Food poisoning is an illness caused by eating contaminated food. It’s not usually serious and most people get better within a few days without treatment.  

If you are suffering from diarrhoea or sickness and you think you have food poisoning, you should visit your GP. They can give you medical advice and treatment and organise for a stool sample to be taken from you.  

This will allow the type of infection you are suffering from to be identified. Identification of the infection is crucial to pinpointing the possible cause of your illness and without this it is difficult to start an investigation into your illness.

We are often contacted by people who suspect they have food poisoning that they link to a restaurant or takeaway where they last ate. In truth, food poisoning normally takes at least 12 hours from the consumption of food for diarrhoeal symptoms to manifest and, in some circumstances, symptoms can take several days to start.  

If just one person suspects they have food poisoning it is not always relevant for us to investigate, but if more than one person has become ill, it is important to let us know.

You will need to provide:

• the name and address of the food business
• full details of when and what you ate and drank including the date and time
• the symptoms, and when they started
• if you ate as part of a group, any others suffering from the same symptoms
• if you contacted the business, the name of the contact and what action they have already taken
• your email address in case we need to contact you

While you are symptomatic (for example, diarrhoea, vomiting and high temperature), you may be infectious to others. It is against the law to work in any food handling area if you are known to be, or suspected to be, suffering from, or to be a carrier of a disease, which is likely to be transmitted through food. 

If your job involves handling food, or working with vulnerable people, you should tell your employer. It is recommended that you avoid handling food for 48 hours after your symptoms have stopped. For further guidance visit the Food Standards Agency fitness for work.

The council's commercial team food officers are responsible for investigating the source of and controlling the spread of notifiable diseases.  

If your report is selected for further investigation, we will investigate the business that sold you the food. When we inspect, we will make sure that:

• the food hygiene in the buildings used to store, sell, and offer the food meets the standards set by law
• the quality of food meets these standards
• the food suppliers label their food properly

If the business does not meet legal standards, we can send a letter telling the owner to make specific improvements or, in more serious cases, we can take legal action.

Listed below are some leaflets which provide useful advice and guidance on the common illnesses we deal with. For further information, please contact us at foodandsafety@eastcambs.gov.uk  or telephone 01353 665555.