6th Nov 2008 - 00:00
Abstract
Food and Safety Officers in Swansea have issued a warning to food related businesses in the city after two businesses were visited by bogus food safety officers.
Swansea Council had several reports from concerned businesses who had received calls from individuals claiming they were inspecting their premises. Claims have been made by the bogus callers that they were in possession of official files which documented individual business details. Claims have also been made that observations of how staff handle food were also witnessed. Martin Saville, Head of Environmental Health in Swansea Council said: "We have some concerns that these businesses are being mislead into thinking that the individuals they are dealing with have been from a food related inspection service such as our own Food and Safety Division. "We're not entirely sure why anyone would want to impersonate a Food & Safety Officer, but calls from two separate businesses seem to confirm that this is the case. The Council confirmed that their own Food and Safety Officers had not made any scheduled visits to either of the businesses. Mr Saville added, "Our advice to any business in Swansea that deals with food and is regularly inspected by the Council is to always check the identity card of the individual. Genuine officers carry ID cards with a photograph and will be happy to confirm their identity."