Food Safety

Food safety standards in Guildford's 1200 or so, food premises are regularly monitored by officers from the Council's Environmental Health Division. In addition to enforcing food safety standards, environmental health officers provide practical advice to food businesses and aim to raise standards by helping to train the food handlers of tomorrow.

Each year over 700 food businesses are routinely inspected by environmental health officers who carry out thorough checks on food storage, preparation and hygiene to identify potential hazards. The frequency of the inspections varies according to the potential risk posed by the type of premises and its previous hygiene record. The majority of catering premises within the Borough of Guildford are of a good standard and are visited every twelve to eighteen months.

A range of training courses for food handlers and the proprietors of food businesses are provided. The most popular course is the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Officer's "Basic Food Hygiene" course. This is run on a monthly basis at a cost of �50 per person and aims to equip food handlers with the knowledge they need to prevent food poisoning.

Last summer the department ran a successful Bengali language version of the course for staff of some of the Borough's Indian restaurants.

Anyone with a query or complaint about food safety or who requires advice or information on food hygiene training should contact the following:

Environmental Health on 01483 444371.
Fax:- 01483 444546

Page updated January 20, 2003

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