Food Complaints and Food Premises Complaints
Introduction
Mould
Bakery Goods
Chocolate/Confectionery
Dried Foods
Introduction
Discovering a problem with food that you have purchased or
visiting a food establishment with unacceptable conditions is a
very unpleasant experience.
Please contact the Food
Team through the Worcestershire Hub if you have:
- eaten out and are concerned about conditions that you have
experienced e.g. dirty premises, undercooked food, and food that
was contaminated or mouldy;
- discovered a serious problem with your foodsuch as metal,
glass, chemical contamination or or substantial mould growth;
and
- experienced food poisoning as a result of something that you
have eaten.
Contact the Worcestershire Hub Service Centres for each of the
local authorities in Worcestershire.
Here are some common food complaints together with a short
explanation and suggestions for the best course of action.
Bakery Goods
Bakery Char
Bread and cakes may contain bits of overcooked dough which has
flaked off bakery tins. It does not necessarily indicate poor
hygiene although they may be mistaken for rodent droppings which
are black and regular torpedo shaped, whilst bakery char is greyish
and uneven in shape.
Action: Contact manufacturer
No Public Health Risk
Carbonised Grease
The machinery used to produce bread and cakes
is lubricated with a non-toxic vegetable oil. Occasionally, some of
this may become incorporated into the dough giving the product a
grey/greasy appearance.
Action: Contact manufacturer
No Public Health Risk
Chocolate/Confectionery
Bloom
Chocolate may develop a light coloured bloom if stored at too high
a temperature. It is not mould but is due to fat separation and is
not harmful.
Action: Return to retailer
No Public Health Risk
Sugar Crystals
Large sugar crystals may form in confectionery and may be mistaken
for glass. The crystals will dissolve in warm water.
Action: Test with warm water, contact Food Safety Team if
crystals do not dissolve
No Public Health Risk if sugar crystals, Public Health Risk
if glass
Dried Foods
Insects
Dried products such as flour, sugar and pulses may contain small
insects such as psocids (book lice). These do not carry disease,
but they are unsightly and can eat through the paper of the packet.
They breed very quickly in warm, humid conditions and so spread
into uncontaminated food very quickly.
Action: Throw away all affected food, clean cupboards with
bleach solution (follow advice on bottle) and dry thoroughly. Store
new dried foods in airtight containers. Ensure good ventilation in
kitchen/ store cupboards. Contact Food Safety Team for
advice.
No Public Health Risk
Fish
Codworm
White fish such as cod or haddock may be infested with a small,
round brownish/yellow worm found in the flesh. They are killed by
cooking and are harmless to humans. The affected parts of the fish
are usually cut away, but some may be missed.
Action: Contact retailer or supplier
No Public Health Risk
Fruit and Vegetables
Stones, soil and slugs
Fruit and vegetables commonly have soil,
stones or small slugs adhering to them. This is quite normal as
they originate from soil.
Action: Wash all fruit and vegetables thoroughly before
eating
No Public Health Risk
Greenfly
Salad vegetables, especially lettuce may have
greenfly attached. This is becoming more common as the use of
pesticides decreases, but they are not harmful.
Action: Wash all salad items thoroughly
No Public Health Risk
Note: Mould growth will naturally occur when fruit and vegetables
become bruised or damaged. This will be minimised if the buyer
checks the produce before purchase and handles it carefully
afterwards
Meat and Poultry
Skin, bone etc.
Products made from meat and/or poultry may
contain small bones, skin or parts of blood vessels. These are
unsightly but rarely a health hazard as they are normal parts of
the original animal. They may sometimes cause problems such as a
chipped tooth and these are best dealt with by the individual – via
the Civil Court if necessary.
Action: Contact retailer/manufacturer
No Public Health Risk
Note: It is very rare for prohibited parts of an animal eg.
genitals, eyes, eye-lids etc OR non-food animals eg. cats and dogs
to be used for human food. Meat such as chicken or lamb is easily
available and relatively inexpensive so that the use of prohibited
parts or species is not economic.
Tinned Foods
Insects
Occasionally, small grubs may be discovered in
canned vegetables expecially sweetcorn and tomatoes. The grubs are
the larvae of a moth which live inside the sweetcorn kernal or
tomato and are impossible to see before they are processed.
Although it isn’t pleasant to find a grub in your food, they are
killed and sterilised by the canning process. As the use of
pesticides decreases, these types of problem will
increase.
Action: Contact the manufacturer
No Public Health Risk
Wasps and fruit flies
These are naturally associated with fruit and
so often found in tins of fruit. They do not carry disease.
Action: Contact the manufacturer
No Public Health Risk
Struvite
Some naturally occurring elements in fish may
develop into hard crystals during the canning process. These
crystals may be mistaken for glass fragments and are called
Struvite. They are not harmful and will be broken down by stomach
acid if swallowed. Struvite is especially common in tinned salmon
and will dissolve if placed in vinegar and gently heated for 15-20
minutes (they may not dissolve completely in this time but will
reduce in size). Glass will not dissolve.
Action: Heat gently in vinegar for 15-20 minutes, if struvite
contact the manufacturer, if glass contact the Food Safety
Team.
No Public Health Risk if struvite
Public Health Risk if glass
Psocids
Psocids - also known as book lice - are small
(1mm to 2mm in length) with soft yellow/grey bodies. They feed on
fragments of animal and vegetable matter and can be found in
cupboards or on wallpaper. They are not harmful. The simplest way
of eradicating psocids from a house is to ensure that the house is
dry so the mould and fungi, that they feed on, cannot grow.
No Public Health Risk
Further Information
If you would like further advice about the food you buy, please
contact the
Worcestershire Hub on: 01562 732928.
Please note that when Regulatory Services investigate food
complaints, we cannot get involved with compensation issues.
