What we will investigate
We will only investigate complaints where there is a risk to health:
- food that may have caused food poisoning
- food containing certain types of foreign bodies and mould
- complaints about hygiene standards in food businesses
- food that has been sold beyond its "use by" date.
Examples of when we cannot investigate
There are certain complaints that we can't investigate. These include:
Food possession and evidence: A food complaint where you no longer have the food in your possession.
Unconfirmed food poisoning: An allegation of food poisoning where there is no laboratory confirmation from a stool sample, and the affected person does not belong to a high-risk group (under five years old, elderly, sick, or immuno-compromised).
Isolated Incidents: A food poisoning allegation tied to a specific food business and that has only affected one person / household, where no other similar complaints have been received about them within the past month.
Low-risk issues: A complaint regarding food sold by responsible traders, unless it involves a foreign body capable of causing actual physical injury, food contaminated with chemicals, or unfit food with visible signs or mould or decay. Although certain situations are unsightly, such as a hair in your food or insects found in vegetables, often there is no risk to health from these and you should contact the seller. For these cases, you are instead advised to return the goods to the retailer.
Best before dates: A complaint that food past its "best before" date has been sold or is currently on display for sale. This is a quality issue and not a health concern.
Product quality and labeling: A complaint regarding the general quality of the product, its description, or other issues of a similar nature.
Trading Standards at Hampshire County Council usually deals with these types of complaints.
Resolving a complaint yourself
In cases where we are unable to help you, you may be able to resolve it by contacting the owner of the food business and discussing your complaint with them. They may offer you a refund and/or carry out their own internal investigation. It will help if you keep the food, packaging and receipt.
How to make a complaint
If you would like to make a complaint about food or a food business, we recommend you:
- contact us as soon as possible by logging a complaint
- keep as much of the food as possible, as well as any foreign bodies of concern
- keep any packaging and the receipt
- store the food appropriately until it is in our care, for example in a refrigerator or freezer.
Alternatively, you can contact the business or premises concerned directly to discuss the matter with the manager or owner of the food premises. We would recommend you put your complaint in writing and keep a copy of the letter.
However, if you return a product to where you bought it from it will be very difficult for us to investigate your complaint.
What an investigation involves
Each complaint will have an investigating officer assigned to it. The level of investigation will depend on the nature of the complaint, the risk to public health and any similar complaints about the food or business.
An investigation may range from a visual examination and identification of a foreign object to an in-depth analysis of the food.
Complaints about food or a food premises outside East Hampshire
If you have a complaint about food or a food premises which is outside the district, we will arrange for the complaint to be transferred to the relevant local authority.
Trying to claim compensation or a refund
Our role is to protect the consumer to ensure that the incident does not recur. Unfortunately, we cannot help you claim compensation or a refund; it is between you and the retailer or manufacturer.