What do I do if I have a food
complaint?
If you buy an item of food and
discover a problem with it, there are various courses of action
which may be taken:
- For labelling, false
descriptions or quantity issues you should contact Trading
Standards at
www.consumerdirect.gov.uk or
telephone 08454 040506.
- For foreign matter in
food, rotting or mouldy products and food purchased past its use by
date you should contact Consumer Services, Food and Safety
Officers, Mid Suffolk District Council,
email:customerservice@csduk.com.
- You can take the food
back to the shop where you purchased it. If you do this you may be
offered a refund which, if accepted, would make it difficult for
the above departments to subsequently deal with the
problem.
What information should I have
available?
If you decide to contact the Food and
Safety Officers or Trading Standards Department please do so as
soon as you can and it will be helpful to have the following
information available:
- where the food was
purchased?
- who actually bought the
food?
- is there a copy of the
receipt?
- who discovered the
problem?
Try to keep the food in such a way
that it cannot be further contaminated (such as in a clean freezer
bag) and store in the fridge or freezer.
What happens after a complaint is
reported?
If you take your food complaint to the
Food and Safety Officers they will carry out a thorough
investigation. This may result in legal/court proceedings being
taken and could require you to attend court as a witness. This
would only be with your consent. The investigation would
include:
- examining the food and
any labelling
- visiting the premises
where it was sold or made
- advising a food
business on remedying any problems
- letting you know what
action has been taken
- where necessary taking
legal proceedings.
The action that a shop or manufacturer
takes may vary. Most will offer either replacement goods or perhaps
a voucher to restore the customer's faith.
Compensation of any type cannot be
obtained on your behalf. A solicitor will advise you if you want to
obtain compensation.
For more information visit the
Customer Service Direct website: