Sometimes the inspection and auditing of food premises is not enough and we have to take a closer look. This is where sampling comes in. Sampling surveys are carried out monthly but officers will also sample products at random during inspections and following complaints about certain foods.
Types of sampling
Generally there are two types of sampling - for food safety and for food standards. Food safety sampling will normally involve getting the food within a short space of time, in the same condition as it was found, to the Health Protection Agency (HPA, formally known as the Public Health Laboratory Service). The HPA will work out the amount and type of the bacteria on and in the food. This is to find out whether the food is safe to eat and for how long it will remain safe to eat if it is stored correctly. Sometimes food will be deliberately sampled at the end of its shelf life to ensure it is still safe to eat.
Another aspect of food safety sampling is to look at the environment within which the food is prepared. For example food preparation surfaces, food containers and utensils can be tested by swabbing their surfaces. Water supplies are also tested, particularly when the premises are not on mains water.
The other type of sampling looks at food standards. Rather than assess the safety of the food, standards looks at the composition of the food. Surveys of particular foods will look at, for example, the amount of fat in minced beef compared with what the label says, the amount of meat in sausages compared with what the label claims or the presence of undeclared additives such as colours, flavours or water. If we do take a sample of food from your premises we will let you have the results of the analysis whether it is satisfactory or needs further investigation.