The aim is to ensure that places where people work or visit are safe and that the food you eat is safe. To achieve this they:

• Inspect premises to ensure standards of safety are acceptable, and inspect premises and mobile vehicles that manufacture, store and sell food to ensure standards of hygiene are acceptable

• Investigate accidents in places of work and take action to ensure they don't happen again

• Investigate and deal with complaints about unhygienic premises and unsafe food

• Assist in the removal and control of food implicated in national scares by responding to food alerts 

• Take samples to ensure food on sale is safe to eat

• Give advice to businesses and employers to help them meet the required standards

• Provide a range of advisory leaflets

• Advise on food hygiene training

• Carry out routine health and safety inspections of commercial premises

• Assess compliance with health and safety law

• Investigate complaints and accidents with regard to these premises and provide advice for new and existing businesses

• Food complaints

  Under the Food Safety Act 1990 it is an offence to sell food which is unfit for human consumption or is so contaminated that it would not be reasonable to expect it to be consumed in that condition.

• Food safety inspections

  Routine inspections of food premises will be carried out by your district/borough council.

• Food poisoning

  If you believe that you are suffering from food poisoning you should go to your doctor and explain your concerns.

• Food Safety Management Systems

  New EU Regulations which came into force on the 1 January 2006 places a new duty on all food business operators to implement food safety management procedures based upon the hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) principals.

• Food sampling

  District/borough councils have a duty under the Food Safety Act 1990 to carry out regular sampling of food from across the whole range of food businesses

• Gut Reaction Newsletter

  Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, in partnership with Dorset local authorities, publish a newsletter called Gut Reaction.

• Imported Food

  If you intend importing food direct, then you need to know what the rules are as you are responsible for the foods you import.

• Food hygiene training

  Information on food hygiene training courses.

• Food labelling and composition

  There are legal controls on the quality and ingredients of food, and legal requirements to provide detailed labelling on most foods. These are enforced by Dorset County Council's Trading Standards Service.

• Mobile food vendors

  Information for mobile food vendors trading in Dorset.