Food Complaints

We deal with a number of food complaints from members of the public and they can be categorised as follows:

Foreign body complaint
Finding a foreign body in food bought from a retail outlet or in a meal at a restaurant can be an unpleasant experience. This type of complaint could include nuts and bolts, metal washer, hair, mouldy food, insects, etc.

Food that causes illness
Some complaints come from people alleging that the food they have eaten out or bought and eaten at home has given them the symptoms of food poisoning. View further information on the symptoms. Opens in a new window

Labelling
All food items will carry either a 'best before' date or a 'use by' date. The Best Before date is the date up to and including which the manufacturer expects the food to remain at peak quality, providing it has been stored properly. Food may still be edible after this date, but its appearance and quality could suffer. The use by date is a clear instruction that the food should be 'used by' the end of the date given on the label. Foods that have a 'use by' date must be removed from sale once that date has passed.

Concerns over 'best before' dates on products should be directed towards Trading Standards Opens in a new window.

Dealing with your food complaint
The Council can only deal with complaints about food bought within the borough of Surrey Heath. If the food has been purchased outside the Borough we can help you to direct your complaint to the appropriate Local Authority.

As a customer you have two options:
1. Return the product/foreign body to the retailer/manufacturer.
2. Bring your complaint to the Food Safety Section of the Environmental Health Department.

When you pass the complaint over to us for investigation you will be given:

A receipt as confirmation of your acceptance to allow us to deal with the complaint.
The name and telephone number of the officer dealing with the complaint.
A summary sheet of the proposed action detailing timescales for the investigation.

If you wish to bring the food complaint to the Council Office please:
1. Keep the food, any wrapping and receipt;
2. Where applicable, avoid handling the foreign body found in the food item;
3. Keep perishable foods in the fridge or freezer to prevent deterioration;
4. If the item of food is one of a pack, bring in the whole pack.

It may take several weeks for the Investigating Officer to collect all the information necessary for deciding what action is appropriate. Appropriate action may result in informal advice to avoid a recurrence or formal action against the company.

Please note that Surrey Heath Borough Council only investigates the criminal aspect of the complaint. The Council will not seek to obtain or otherwise negotiate any compensation or redress for the complaint or complaints about food premises.

Complaints about food premises
We investigate complaints about food premises within the Surrey Heath Borough. The Council only investigate complaints that relate to a food safety issue. The Council do not investigate complaints about customer service or quality or food price. This is dealt with by Trading Standards Opens in a new window.

Type of complaints that we investigate include:

Poor levels of cleanliness noted in kitchens - food storage risks.
Poor food handling practices.
Sighting of pests/vermin in food premises.

Should you wish to complain about a premises within the borough you may contact:

Environmental Services
Surrey Heath House
Knoll Road
Camberley
Surrey
GU15 3HD

01276 707100
environmental.health@surreyheath.gov.uk

Complaints about our service
Your might want to complain if you are not happy with something we (or someone acting for us) have or have not done or the standard of service provided by us.

Stage 1 - If you are unable to resolve your complaint with the officer concerned, in the first instance you should put your complaint in writing to the Environmental Health Manager, where it is hoped that we can settle the complaint quickly and informally.

Stage 2 - If you are not satisfied you should put you complaint in writing to the Chief Officer responsible for the service.

Stage 3 - If you are still not satisfied you may write to the Chief Executive.

Stage 4 - Once you have been through our complaints procedure, if you are still not happy you can write to the Ombudsman at

Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
W1P 4QP

Tel 020 7217 4620
Tel 020 7217 4621
custserv.lon@lgo.org.uk

You can also get Ombudsman complaint forms from the Ombudsman's website on http://www.lgo.org.uk Opens in a new window.

When you refer your complaint to the Ombudsman, They will first check to make sure we have had the opportunity to deal with it under our complaints procedure. If we haven't, they may refer the complaint back to us for us to deal with.