Food Hygiene & Food Standards Enforcement

The Environmental Health statutory duty of the enforcement of food safety legislation is undertaken in Aberdeen City Council by the Commercial Section of the Trading Standards and Commercial Premises Service which is part of Housing and Environment.

It is the Services’ policy to seek to ensure that all items of food intended for sale for human consumption, which are produced, stored, and distributed, handled or consumed within the city are without risk to the health or safety of the consumer, and are satisfactory as to their nature, substance and quality.
 
It is a legal requirement for all food businesses operating in the City area to register with this Service. Registration is free and forms can be obtained by contacting the office on the phone number below.

Where possible the authority will use an educational approach to ensure businesses are complying with the relevant statutes relating to food safety.  Where necessary however formal means of enforcement such as formal notices and prosecutions will be used to ensure the principal objective of public safety is achieved.

The areas of work that we are involved in are as follows:

• Food Hygiene Inspections
• Food Standards Inspections
• Investigation of cases of illness where a food premises is implicated
• Food sampling
• Investigation of food complaints eg  foreign bodies found in food
  watering and/or substitution of alcoholic drinks

Advice is freely available to both businesses and members of the public on all aspects of food safety and we will attempt to answer any questions raised promptly.

You can report Food Safety issues by using the Online Fault Reporting System

Contacts

• Environmental Health and Trading Standards
  Housing and Environment
  Business Hub15
  3rd Floor South
  Marischal College
  Broad Street
  Aberdeen
  AB10 1AB
  Phone: 01224 523800
  Fax: 01224 523887
  Email: commercial@aberdeencity.gov.uk
  
  

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does the food premises inspector need to give me notice that an inspection is due?
• How do I register my food business?
• How often are food premises inspected?
• How often will my food premises be inspected?
• I am feeling unwell following consumption of some food.
• I have purchased a product which appears to have inaccurate labelling.
• I purchased some foodstuffs that appear to be off. What should I do?
• I would like some advice regarding healthy eating options.
• What are the key food related Regulations?
• What does a food inspection involve?
• What is a food standard inspection?
• What legal action can be taken if a food business fails to meet the standards required?
• Who visits my premises?
• Will I get time to fix what’s wrong?
• Will I receive advance warning of the inspection?
• Will they tell me if something is wrong?