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When you run a business, there are many laws you need to be aware of and comply with. These can extend beyond the usual rules you associate with employment law. For example, if your business is a food business and engages in activities such as food preparation, you need to comply with food hygiene. Therefore, you need to know about Environmental Health Officer (EHO) inspections, which carry out food hygiene inspections. This article will explain what businesses need to know about EHO inspections.
What is an EHO Inspection?
An EHO inspection is an inspection carried out by an employee of the government for a business, which involves storing or producing food or drink. The Foods Standards Agency has the legal power to carry out these inspections.
The EHO inspector will examine your business to look at your business’ hygiene and food safety practices. This includes, for example, food and drink practices for handling and storing food. For example, they will assess you against the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) which makes sure you control hazards in relation to food and drink through a management system. The three main areas they will inspect are:
- safe food practices;
- the condition of your business premises; and
- your food and drink safety management system.
This may require them, for example, to:
- speak to your employees;
- look at maintenance records, such as gas safety certificates;
- look at how clean your premises are; and
- take photographs and samples.
Why Do I Have to Have an EHO Inspection?
You may have to undergo an EHO inspection to protect public health and the environment. The inspection is in place to ensure that your food and drink are safe for your customers to consume. In doing so, they will check that your business complies with food and drink legal standards, sometimes referred to as food safety law.
You must understand that your local authority authorises an EHO inspector to enter your business premises, and it is illegal to stop entry.
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What Are the Food and Drink Standards?
As a business owner working with food and drink, it is crucial that you are aware of the laws you need to comply with regarding this. These are found in the Food Safety Act 1990. This details your main requirements, being that:
- you must not serve or sell food and drink that has something in it that damages the health of the person consuming it;
- your food and drink meets consumer exception in terms of its nature, substance and quality; and
- you do not present, label or advertise your food and drink in a fashion that is false or misleads consumers.
What Happens After an EHO Inspection?
Once the EHO inspector has completed their EHO inspection, if you pass it, they will give your business a food hygiene rating. This will reflect:
- how well you comply with the legal rules regarding food and drink;
- your business structural condition; and
- your food management performance.
Your food and drink business can get a rating as follows:
- Zero to one: this means that your business has no awareness of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and needs urgent improvement as it is close to causing ill health;
- Two to three: this means, for example, that you have some awareness of the (HACCP) but have a high risk of causing ill health;
- Four: this is a good rating in terms of, for example, the understanding of the HACCP; or
- Five: this is the best rating resulting in a low risk of causing ill health.
What Happens if I Fail an EHO Inspection?
If you fail an EHO inspection, there could be a range of repercussions. For example, you could:
- face legal proceedings;
- suffer damage to your business reputation; or
- face business closure.
This depends on the type of legal notice a business receives, which could be a:
- hygiene improvement notice requiring you to make specific improvements which failure to do so results in, for example, a fine;
- hygiene emergency prohibition notice which means your business cannot trade until you resolve the issue causing an immediate risk to public health; or
- seizure and detention notice that you cannot sell certain products as they are not at the adequate level to consume.
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Key Takeaways
If your business sells food and drink, you will face Environmental Health Officer (EHO) inspections. This is where a government official inspects your business to ensure you are complying with the food and safety standards law. As a business owner, you need to comply with the food and drink standards, which require, for example, not to mislead consumers or provide them with false information about your food and drinks. After the EHO inspection, your business should get a food hygiene rating which can range from zero to five. If you fail an EHO inspection, you could face legal proceedings depending on the type of legal notice you receive.
If you have questions about EHO inspections, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
An Environmental Health Officer (EHO) inspection is when a government official assesses the hygiene and food safety practices of a business selling food or drink.
The food and drink standards are found in the Food Safety Act 1990 and detail the laws you have to comply with when selling food and drink.
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