Foodlaw-Reading
Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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FSA Enforcement Letter (ENF/E/15/011), 8 June 2015
The Food Standards Agency (FSA), in consultation with local authorities (mainly at the Food Hygiene Focus Group and the Food Standards and Labelling Experts Meetings), has been working on a project to create a central repository of information about successful food prosecutions brought by UK local authorities and the FSA which we would then publish on the FSA website.
Issue
It was clear from feedback we have received that there is a need for a published database of all successful prosecutions which food authorities can consult when carrying out their own enforcement activities. Local authority feedback also suggests that it would be important to know when a convicted food business operator has been made subject to a “prohibited persons” order. (Although we do not propose to publish this data, we will keep a central register of whether an order has been made, and you will be able to request this information from the FSA in future.)
Objective
This database will be the first collective record of all food standards, food safety and food hygiene related prosecution cases in the UK where a conviction is obtained, including those carried out by the FSA. We hope that it will be a hugely valuable resource for you in the future, and will lead to knowledge-sharing and capability-building across the country in how to bring successful cases in court.
Action
For the FSA to have a complete list of food standards, food safety and food hygiene related prosecution cases we will need you to complete a spreadsheet outlining details of any successful prosecutions. The go-live date for the FSA’s commissioning email (enclosing the spreadsheet for you to complete as and when you get a conviction together with instructions for completing it) to local authorities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will be on 1 July 2015.
