Council's Olympic food testing campaign

Bristol City Council are undertaking a series of visits to ensure food businesses in the city are up to scratch during the Olympics.
 
Bristol City Council’s food safety team have been awarded a grant of £23,000 from the Food Standards Agency to assist them in carrying out additional targeted food testing in the run-up to the Olympics. The inspections will be focussed on importers, manufacturers and caterers in the city.
 
The Port of Bristol is one of the UK’s designated EU Border Inspection Posts and it’s Environmental Health’s job to check the products coming in. Once the team have approved the food arriving here, it can be sent anywhere within the EU without needing further inspection.
 
Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, Cllr Guy Poultney, said: “Bristol is a major trading hub between the UK and the rest of the world. Given the significant increases we are seeing in food imports coming into the city, as well as higher demand for our food manufacturing services because of the Olympics, we need to be sure that all that extra food is safe. This is about making sure that consumers and businesses can rely on the quality of food coming from Bristol."
 
Last year, over 1,300 ships arrived in the docks, bringing with them a whole range of goods including animal feed, dried fruit and spices from the middle and far east, egg and fish products from the USA, and tinned fruits from South Africa and China. 
 
Dan Wilmott, from Bristol City Council's Environmental Health team, said: “The council is committed to helping local businesses. The work of the food safety team is critical to making sure any business dealing with food meets the safety standards that protect them and their customers. Having this grant means the team are able to carry out extra work during the Olympics to help ensure the visitors coming to this country have a good experience here.” 
 
Last year, the council’s team of Environmental Health Officers inspected more than 1,400 food businesses in Bristol. Several thousand visits were also made following up inspections and dealing with complaints made by members of the public.
 
All food businesses in the city are rated and put on the National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme website, which members of the public can view.
 
The National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme gives food business a rating based on a number of criteria:
 
- Food hygiene practices
- The structure of the business/actual layout facilities
- Confidence in management – the likelihood of the business continuing to be compliant in the future
 
A five star is the highest rating for a business. Visit www.food.gov.uk for further information.