Newtownabbey Borough Council - Environmental Health: Food Safety

Food Safety

We aim to ensure that food sold and manufactured in the Newtownabbey Borough Council area is safe to eat through regular inspections of food establishments including restaurants, cafes, pubs, hotels, supermarkets and food manufacturers.

What We Do

Inspect food establishments to ensure that food is being handled and produced hygienically.
Investigate food complaints.
Respond to consumer complaints and concerns regarding unhygienic food premises.
Investigate cases of food poisoning.
Provide food hygiene training for businesses and voluntary groups.
Register new food premises.
Provide advice to new food businesses.
Respond to food alerts issued by the Food Standards Agency about potentially unsafe food.
Carry out programmed food sampling of businesses to ensure the food they produce is safe.
Provide advice to existing food businesses.

Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

The National Food Hygiene Rating scheme (FHRS) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, is a Food Standards Agency (FSA)/local authority partnership initiative. This national food hygiene rating scheme provides consumers with information about hygiene standards in food business establishments at the time they are inspected to check compliance with legal requirements on food hygiene. The food hygiene rating given reflects the inspection findings. Newtownabbey Borough Council will launch the scheme on 25th June 2012.

The purpose of the FHRS is to allow consumers to make informed choices about the places where they eat out or shop for food and, through these choices, encourage businesses to improve their hygiene standards. The overarching aim is to reduce the incidence of food-borne illness and the associated costs to the economy.

View our Food Hygiene Rating Scheme page for more information.