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How to make a food complaint

If you have a complaint concerning food that you have purchased within South Oxfordshire, please contact the food and safety team on 01491 823203 or e-mail environmental.services@southoxon.gov.uk

Trading Standards at Oxfordshire County Council investigate complaints relating to food quality, and inaccurate descriptions.  Trading Standards can be contacted via the link on the right.

Food complaint investigations

From time to time food products purchased within South Oxfordshire may not be of an acceptable standard. This may be due to a number of different factors, for instance: poor pest control procedures, inadequate cleaning, and contamination during storage or even malicious tampering.

When this occurs, it is the responsibility of the Council's Food & Safety Team to investigate these complaints.

When a member of the public contacts us with a food complaint the food team will register the complaint and begin an investigation.

This will involve the following:

• Visiting the shop or restaurant where the food was purchased.  
• Finding out where the food product is manufactured.
• Liaising with the Local Authority Environmental Health service that is responsible for the food manufacturer (If they are outside South Oxfordshire but within the UK.)
• Contacting the food manufacturing company and discussing the likely causes of the complaint. Copies of their food safety procedures and policies may be requested at this time.
• If necessary, submitting the food complaint for laboratory analysis. Collating all the available data and deciding what action is appropriate (in accordance with our Food and Safety Enforcement Policy).
• Writing to the complainant to inform them of the investigation and what action has been taken.

Action the Council can take

Action we take ranges from prosecutions to providing a business with written advice or guidance.

It is not always possible for us to identify how a food product became contaminated and so it may not be appropriate to take any action.

In circumstances where we feel an informal approach is required, you may wish to take your own action. However, we will not become involved in civil actions or remuneration and compensation issues.

Our investigations may also reveal there is a specific problem with a food product and result in a Food Alert, which may result in the product being withdrawn from sale.