The Food Team

THE FOOD TEAM

The Food Section within the Environmental Health Service of Lisburn City Council consists of:

An Environmental Health Manager
2 full time Environmental Health Officers and 1part time Environmental Health Officer.

There are approximately 770 registered food businesses in Lisburn City Council, and these include manufacturers, schools, nursing and residential homes, day care nurseries, retail shops, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, wholesalers, and mobile vans.

All registered premises are routinely inspected, with frequency of inspection related to risk of the premises. High risk or Category A premises such as manufacturers, caterers, hotels are inspected every 6 months, medium risk are inspected at intervals between one and two years, and low risk premises such as retail shops selling only prepacked foods are visited between 3 and 5 years.

The team are responsible for:

1. Food Hygiene Inspections for compliance with EC/852/04 and The Food Hygiene Regulations (NI) 2006. This involves assessing food handling practices, identifying hazards and taking action to remedy any problems discovered.
2. Food Standards Inspections to ensure legal requirements are met in relation to quality, composition, labelling, preparation and advertising of food.
3. Investigation of food complaints regarding premises, practices and food items.
4. Investigation of individual cases and outbreaks of food borne illnesses as notified by the Eastern Health and Social Services Board and members of the public.
5. Sampling of food products for microbiological and labelling standards.
6. Responding to Hazard Warnings and Alerts about specific food products.
7. Provision of advice and guidance to businesses and consumers on food safety issues.
8. Provision of food hygiene training.