Food safety legislation requires that food sold for human consumption must be safe, properly described and produced in hygienic premises. We enforce these requirements in relation to food and food businesses within the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area.

We have over 4,000 registered food businesses and receive around 900 food related complaints and enquiries every year.

The Food Standards Agency website provides information on a wide range of food safety issues. You can also read food safety information for businesses and consumers.

How to make an enquiry or complaint about food safety or a food premises

You can submit a complaint or enquiry using our online form. If you are unable to use the online service, you can email food.safety@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.

If the issue relates to a business which is not in BCP Council area, get in touch with the local authority where the business is located.

How we follow up food complaints

We record and check every report. All complaints are reviewed and a risk assessment is carried out. To ensure efficient use of limited staff and financial resources, priority is given to investigation of complaints where:

• there is evidence of, or potential for, significant harm to health
• a food premises complained about has a poor history of compliance with food safety legislation
• there is evidence of fraudulent practice, particularly where this could lead to harm

We will action any breaches of legislation in line with our enforcement policy.

We do not visit every food business after receiving a complaint. On-site investigations will not generally be carried out in the following circumstances:

• single allegations of food-related illness
• hygiene complaints where the business has a good history of compliance and the premises are not overdue for inspection, unless the risk assessment raises a particular concern
• complaints where the issue complained about does not involve a breach of legal requirements

All complaints are logged as intelligence and for future reference.

Food complaints we deal with

The following are examples of issues we can investigate or provide advice about, dependant on the risk:

• poor standards of hygiene or practices in food premises
• pests in food premises
• allegations that food has caused illness/food poisoning
• foods sold past the “Use By” date (but not “Best Before”)
• contaminated foods for example mouldy ready-to-eat meat products, chemical contamination
• items found in foods which could cause illness or injury such as glass
• unavailable or incorrect allergen information
• incorrect food labelling and misleading claims such as unfounded health claims

Food complaints we do not deal with

We will not generally follow up food complaints where there is no breach of food legislation or the risk of harm is low. Examples include:

• complaints about food quality for example food which is not liked or not considered good value for money
• takeaway foods delivered cold or late
• “Best Before” dates exceeded (unless the food is also unfit)
• mouldy/over-ripe fruit and vegetables
• items found in food which are not likely to cause illness or injury such as common insects in fresh vegetables
• minor food hygiene issues such as food handlers not wearing hair coverings/not wearing gloves/handling money

For complaints like those listed above, contact the business directly so that the business can carry out its own investigations.

How we follow up reports of suspected food poisoning

We will normally investigate a food poisoning outbreak involving 2 or more people where a link can be made to a food business that has potentially caused the problem (for example all the people with food poisoning symptoms ate at a restaurant at the same time).

We do not routinely investigate individual reports of suspected, unconfirmed food poisoning. This is because it is very difficult to determine which meal, from all the food eaten in the last few days, may have caused illness. It is also possible that any vomiting and diarrhoeal sickness may have been caused by something completely unrelated to food, such as the common Norovirus, which can also be contracted directly from an infected person, or from the environment.

We do keep a record of all single case complaints received, for reference in case of any further notifications which may indicate a food poisoning outbreak.

Read more information about food poisoning.

Claiming compensation

We cannot get compensation for you or pursue claims for personal injury. You can get independent advice on your rights from Citizens' Advice consumer helpline.

How we process your complaint or enquiry

When you submit a complaint or enquiry, you will be provided with an acknowledgement. We will be in contact with you if we need any additional information to allow us to follow up your case fully.

Due to the number of complaints received and limited resources, we are not able to routinely provide feedback on all complaints. However, if we have not been in touch within 5 working days and you would like feedback on your case, you can request this by adding an update to your online case, or by email.

We may need to inform a business that we have received a complaint about them. We will not provide any personal or identifying details to the business.

To follow up your complaint, we may need to share your details with other partner organisations, such as the Food Standards Agency, UKHSA, other Local Authorities or Enforcement Agencies. For further information please refer to our privacy notice.