No food safety checks at some premises since 2019

Food hygiene checks have not been carried out in parts of a Welsh county since 2019 due an inspection backlog, a council has admitted.

Carmarthenshire council said its struggle to recruit food safety officers means hygiene inspections are currently overdue at three high-risk food premises in the county, with hundreds more lower risk food sellers also behind on checks.

Councillor Colin Evans told a scrutiny committee meeting he felt the situation was "quite serious", adding: "Should something go wrong, it could go wrong very quickly."

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said councils were making progress on checks despite increased workloads and a UK-wide need to train more inspectors.

The council was told last month it probably would not meet its hygiene checks and interventions for high-risk food businesses.

Despite offering £60 to £70 per hour to recruit qualified staff through agencies, the council said recruitment remained difficult.

Ian Jones, the council's head of leisure and public protection, said despite a lot of professionalism and expertise within the service it was "highly unlikely" the end-of-year targets would be met.

Councillors were told other authorities were in a similar position and the committee referred the matter to cabinet for consideration.

Food premises are checked based on risk categories ranging from A to E, with A, B and C considered high risk due to food handling.

The council said there were three highest-risk category A premises with overdue hygiene inspections in the county – two of them within a 28-day overdue period, and the third subject to an "ongoing presence from inspectors" since the previous intervention.

There were also two category B premises and 228 category C premises with overdue inspections, and 467 overdue hygiene inspections for category D and E establishments.

The council said inspection frequencies depended on the risk category but varied between "at least every six months to at least every 36 months".

But a council website showing food ratings suggests no food hygiene inspections have been done at some premises in the north of the county in seven years.

The council said inspectors carried out other work, such as food standards and hygiene visits.

It said the average backlog was 16 months for category C premises, 35 months for category D and 38 months for category E.

And it said 405 of the 467 category D and E premises with an overdue inspection were eligible to do a self-assessment questionnaire.

The council said it had a statutory duty to enforce food law "as effectively as possible, using means that are most appropriate to the circumstances".

The hospitality trade body UK Hospitality said despite pressure on the sector in recent years, "the safety of our customers remains non-negotiable and food hygiene is a major focus for businesses – alongside work on allergens and food crime".

The FSA's head of delivery Sarah Aza said last month the agency was liaising with governments and others to increase the inspection workforce.

She said councils were making good progress on food safety and standards checks but a rise in new businesses was increasing the workload.

"If a local authority is concerned about meeting its legal inspection duties, we ask them to get in touch with us early," she said.