Food safety & hygiene

The aim of the food safety enforcement service is to protect public health by preventing the spread of food borne disease and promoting food safety through it's enforcement activity within the District.

To achieve this the objectives are:

To ensure that food which is manufactured, prepared, stored or sold is fit for human consumption.
To ensure that all premises that manufacture, prepare, store or sell food meet at least legal standards of food hygiene and safety.
To promote food safety.
To control the spread of food borne ill health.
To co-operate with and assist other statutory bodies with responsibilities for food safety where food related issues have wider regional or national considerations.

Virtually all food businesses need to register with the Council, and a small number require approval. A registration form can be downloaded on the right of this page. If you have any queries, please use the online service to contact us.

A copy of the latest Food Safety Newsletter can also be viewed or downloaded from the link on the right of this page.

Scores on the Doors

At the present time the "Scores on the Doors" web pages are undergoing reconstruction for which we apologise. This is due to the possible changes in the format of the National Scheme proposed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). However, premises are still being scored from the 1st April 2008 but publication of these scores will be deferred until the National Scheme has been verified. Further information is given in the recent FSA board agreement.

Further Information

Information about the new food safety legislation which came into force on the 1 January 2006, is available via the link on the left of this page.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is the non-ministerial government department which has the responsibility of protecting the public's health and consumers' interests in relation to food. Further advice for caterers is available from the FSA.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provides information covering issues regarding the start of the food chain (i.e. primary producers).

The Health Protection Agency is a source of information about microbiology, bacteria, diseases and food poisoning etc.

Advice on Trading Standards issues can be found at Oxfordshire County Council's web site.

Guidance Notes

The Council has produced guidance notes covering various topics on food safety, these are listed in the 'Publications' area of the site (prefixed by 'Food & Hygiene Safety' or 'Food Poisoning') from where they can be downloaded.

Food Alert Warnings

Central Government holds information on current Food Alert Warnings.