Food Safety Law
Representation and advice
Retailers bear the brunt of enforcement action in the UK. We represent retailers from the outset of investigations and liaising with local authorities, we will also advise on non-contentious issues like due diligence procedures required for own-label products or products supplied by third parties.
We advise businesses in the Catering industry in food safety and hygiene matters providing practical advice about HACCP and how these fit due diligence procedures. In the event that a company’s training systems and risk assessments are inadequate they can be prosecuted in relation to selling food unfit for human consumption or worse still if a fatality occurs as a result of for instance food poisoning from a food premises, a prosecution for Corporate Manslaughter cannot be ruled out. In any of these instances it is vital that legal advice is sought immediately and at Vincent Buffoni & Co Solicitors we will represent a client from the interview stage through to Court Proceedings.
For instance a case where a customer discovered a piece of glass in the food purchased from a Thai Restaurant in South London, the Restaurant faced a number of charges under the Food Safety Act, which resulted in a total fine and costs of £5,000. Clearly this could have been prevented had the Restaurant sought legal advice in regards to preventative measures to take in order to avoid breaching the relevant Food legislation.
