Food and Feed Safety
One of the main objectives for the trading standards service is
to ensure that food and feeding stuffs marketed or produced in
Northumberland satisfy legal requirements regarding safety, nature,
substance and quality, that they meet compositional standards and
are correctly labelled and described. Increasingly the Service
protects the community in relation to the food it eats from Farm to
Plate. From ensuring the welfare of the animals on the farm and the
feeding material fed to them through the manufacturing process to
the product on the shelves, the service is responsible for ensuring
the safety of food.
We do this in a number of ways. All food complaints are
investigated, we visit and inspect food businesses, we provide
advice to food manufacturers and we take samples of food and feed
for animals including pets.
Frequently asked questions about Food and Feed Safety
I am a new food business what do I need to do to get
started?
This will very much depend on what you make and whether you sell
it directly on your own premises or intend to pre pack the food and
sell it through other outlets. Some foods have extremely complex
requirements so we would advise you to telephone or email us and
ask to speak to one of our food team who will be glad to help you
get on the right path. You should also contact your local
Environmental Health Officer to discuss hygiene requirements.
What are food compositional standards?
Some foods are required by law to contain certain
quantities of ingredients otherwise they cannot use the reserved
name for the food.
For examples see our
guidance notes for makers of Jam and our
guidance for meat products
