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Officers from Environmental Services can investigate complaints about food premises or foodstuffs purchased within Babergh District.
If you are worried about the standard of food safety in a premises, or if you have purchased some food which is contaminated or past its Use By Date for example, you should contact us. You can expect to be contacted by an officer within 3 working days of making your complaint, and to be advised of the outcome.
Food Complaints policy (PDF, 23Kb)
Complaints about foodstuffs
These should always be reported to us as soon as possible, particularly in cases of unfit food eg mould. The longer you wait, the harder it is to prove that it was bad when you bought it.
While events are fresh in your mind, you should record some details about the food, for example:
- Place of purchase
- Date and time of purchase
- Use By/Best Before Date
- Who bought the food
- Who discovered the problem
- Who ate the food
If you still have the receipt for the food, keep it, and keep any packaging associated with the food. Whilst you are waiting for the complaint article to be collected you should keep it in the fridge or freezer.
Please see accompanying photographs of an example of a relatively rare condition (Oregon Disease - Deep Pectoral Myopathy) found in chickens and turkeys where the lower breast muscle has its blood supply compromised which leads to the meat decaying in situ and in consequence turning green.
The condition is clearly one of quality as opposed to food hygiene as the problem seems to have its origins in a genetic defect.
 
What we can do
If the foodstuff was prepared by a premises in Babergh District we will visit the premises to investigate the complaint. If the foodstuff was prepared elsewhere we will liaise with the relevant local authority who may carry out an investigation on our behalf. We may send the food away to be examined. Any actions that we take are to ascertain whether there has been a breach of food hygiene legislation. If we are satisfied that there has been a breach of the law, you may be asked to make a legal statement. If formal proceedings follow you may have to appear in Court as a witness.
What we cannot do
We cannot obtain compensation on your behalf. We may not be able to return the food to you at the end of our investigation as it may have been destroyed during analysis. Consequently if your wish is purely for a refund or compensation then you should retain the foodstuff and contact the retailer or obtain legal advice on how to take your own action.
If you wish to report a complaint, or have any queries about complaining about a foodstuff or food premises, please contact us.
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