The Environmental Health Officer AO4

The Environmental Health Officer

​The Environmental Health Officer

• Environmental health officers are employed by local authorities and overseen by the Food Standards Agency to enforce food safety laws.

• They inspect businesses where food is sold to the public such as restaurants, cafes, hotels, and pubs.

• Environmental health officers are making sure that the food is stored, handled, and cooked safely, avoiding contamination, ensuring training is up to date in food safety and hygiene.

Multiple Choice

What is the role of an Environmental Health Officer?

• To ensure food hygiene and safety is being upheld in businesses

• To try the food in restaurants, cafes, and pubs

• To award restaurants with Michelin stars and rosettes

Multiple Select

Select 2 roles and responsibilities of an environmental health officer?

• To ensure food is not being contaminated and is safe to eat

• To ensure the food tastes good and the chefs are skilled

• To ensure food hygiene and safety training is up to date

• To ensure the staff are arriving on time and working hard

​The Food Safety Act 1990

Environmental Health Officers ensure that the Food Safety Act 1990 is being upheld in businesses.

• This Act makes it an offence for anyone to sell or process food for sale which is harmful to health

• The Act ensures that activities in businesses are carried out in a hygienic way.

Multiple Choice

What does The Food Safety Act 1990 make it an offence to do?

• Sell or process food for sale which is harmful to health

• Sell food that is not listed on the menu

Environmental Health Officers

Environmental Health Officers are allowed by law to:

• Enter a food business without an appointment at a reasonable time when the business is open

• Inspect the business and the food being stored, prepared, cooked, and sold there

• Take food samples away for testing in a laboratory for food poisoning bacteria

• Take photos of any evidence of what they find

• Look at the records that have been kept such as temperatures and training records

Multiple Select

What are Environmental Health Officers allowed to do by law? Pick 3.

• Take food samples to check for food poisoning bacteria

• Enter the business during closed hours

• Enter the business without an appointment at a reasonable time

• Look at the business records such as temperatures and training

​Environmental Health Officers

If the Environmental Health Officer finds a problem in a business by law they can:

• Remove the food they suspect to be a problem

• Tell the owners to make hygiene improvements within a set time and come back to inspect after this time

• Close the business and stop it selling food if there is a high risk of food poisoning - this is called an Emergency Hygiene Prohibition Notice

• Give evidence in court if the business owners are prosecuted for breaking the law which can lead to a fine, banned from their business, or a prison sentence.

Multiple Select

Which 3 of the following options can an Environmental Health Officer do if they find a problem?

• Ignore the problem and allow the business to continue unsafe sales

• Remove the food they believe is a food safety hazard

• Close the business to stop sales of high risk of food poisoning

• Tell the owners to make hygiene improvements within a set time and return to re-inspect

Environmental Health Inspections

During an inspection, Environmental Health Officers will:

• Check the use-by and best-before dates on foods to make sure they have not expired

• Check the equipment used for food preparation, cooking, and storing food to make sure it is clean and intact

• Check for evidence of pests and pest control

• Checks the cleanliness of the kitchen and store rooms and takes samples and photographs

• Watch how food is prepared and cooked and the personal hygiene standards of staff

• Inspects food waste system and bins

• Checks paperwork and records

Multiple Select

Pick 3 things an Environmental Health Officer will inspect at a business.

• Equipment

• Staff happiness

• Pests and pest control

• Paperwork

​Food Safety Management System

All food businesses must have a Food Safety Management System in place to ensure food safety which includes:

• A delivery schedule that shows the dates, temperatures, and packaging was checked on delivery

• Fridge and freezer temperatures that are checked twice daily

• Cooking temperatures of high risk foods checked daily

• Cooling times and temperatures of high risk foods

• Kitchen and business cleaning schedules

• Ingredient listings including the 14 allergens

Multiple Select

What documentation must a food business have in place and must be included in a Food Safety Management Plan? Pick 3.

• Ingredients list with the 14 allergens

• Delivery schedule with time, temperature, and packaging

• Recipes and shopping lists

• Fridge and freezer temperatures

​The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

• The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is a system in place to maintain and improve hygiene standards across the hospitality sector.

• The scheme awards businesses with a rating from 5 to 0 which is shown within the business so people can choose where they would like to eat

• 5 = hygiene standards are very good

• 4 = hygiene standards are good

• 3 = hygiene standards are generally satisfactory

• 2 = some improvement is necessary

• 1 = urgent improvement is required

​The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

The Food Hygiene Ratings rate the standards of food hygiene during inspection. This is based on:

• Handling of food

• How food is stored

• How food is prepared

• Cleanliness

• How food safety is managed

• Quality of food

• Customer service

Multiple Choice

What is the highest Food Hygiene Rating a business could get?

• 7

• 5

• 10

• 3