Food hygiene for consumers

If you are concerned about the hygiene standards of a place where you’ve eaten or purchased food, there are a few things you can do.

Reporting food you have purchased

If you have purchased food which is unacceptable, we recommend returning the food to the store where it was purchased and informing the vendor of the problem. 

If you are not satisfied with their response or they fail to adequately address your concerns, let us know using the details at the bottom of this page. 

We can only investigate complaints about food purchased in Newark and Sherwood. If the food has been purchased elsewhere we have no powers to investigate, but we will pass the details on to the appropriate authority.

We can help with:

• food which may have caused food poisoning or is contaminated
• food containing foreign objects (such as glass, insects, metal etc.)
• rotten and decomposing food

You should contact trading standards at Nottinghamshire County Council for help with:

• food quality (for example, over-ripe fruit and vegetables)
• false descriptions and inappropriate labelling of food and drink
• tampering (for example, added water or fat)

Reporting an issue at a local food business

If you have recently seen something at a food business that doesn’t look right, get in touch to provide us with the details so that checks can be made. Even if you think your complaint appears trivial, we are happy to discuss an issue and provide advice.

What we will do

We are impartial and will check all serious matters thoroughly and promptly.

We will investigate and:

• establish if the food meets food safety requirements
• identify the problem and give appropriate advice
• provide information to the food industry in order to raise and maintain standards
• enforce any food safety laws that have been broken
• keep you informed of our progress, findings and the outcome of the investigation

We will not get involved in seeking compensation for you and we have no influence in relation to gestures of goodwill. We will not provide your details to manufacturers or retailers without your express consent.