Staff shortage means 1,600 food premises go uninspected

FOOD safety could be at risk in Birmingham after the council’s lead officer admitted they do not have the staff to effectively monitor food hygiene in the city.

More than 1,600 food premises in Birmingham have not been inspected as the council struggles to meet the backlog due to a staff shortage.

The council was recently rated the worst in the country for food safety by consumer watchdog Which? due to the high number of businesses which had not been hygiene rated.

Officers have demanded ten extra inspectors but warned the situation is unlikely to get any better because of recruitment issues.

A report for the council’s Licensing and Public Protection committee, set out a Food Law Enforcement Plan for the current year.

It said: “Whilst the exact costs are difficult to forecast, we estimate that the plan will not be able to be delivered within the resources available with a shortfall of ten full time equivalent officers.

“Due to the council wide freeze on incremental rises it is becoming more difficult to retain competent and experienced officers.

“This also means that where recruitment is possible, we are not getting interest from experienced officers wishing to work here.

“As a direct result we are only likely to attract newly qualified officers, putting an even greater strain on existing staff.”

There are 7,114 food premises in the city including manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and caterers.

It is estimated 1,675 are unrated, an increase from 1,273 last year.

This comes despite a ‘concerted effort’ by the council to visit uninspected premises last year as they went out to 769 businesses for the first time.

But the problem is down to the sheer volume of new companies springing up or changing hands with 1,171 new registrations made last year.

There are 6,261 rated Birmingham premises on www.ratings.food.gov. uk with 85 per cent ‘broadly compliant’. It leaves 1,053 businesses falling short of standards, 717 of which are ranked in the lowest two categories.

On top of that there were 3,232 complaints made to the council about food hygiene in the city last year which was an all-time record.

The report adds: “Safe food is not only crucial to the health and safety of citizens and visitors to the city but the work which is referred to in the Food Law Enforcement Plan is also consistent with other policy priorities including economic success, staying safe and being healthy.

“The reduction in food safety activity will have a direct impact on these priorities. It is important that all groups within Birmingham, as well as visitors to the city, are offered suitable standards of food quality and hygiene to allow them the healthy lifestyle opportunities to which they are entitled.

“The targeting of food safety interventions according to business risk ratings means that every effort is made to ensure safe food in the most efficient and effective way.”