What really happens after a food safety complaint? 🤔

EHO Story 📩

One of the questions I get asked a lot, especially from food business owners is:

“What actually happens when someone complains about us?”

Whether it’s a customer claiming they got food poisoning, or someone reporting “a mouse behind the toaster”, it’s easy to assume the worst:

Panic.
Shutdown.
Social media storm.

Someone turning up with a clipboard five minutes later.

The truth? It’s more structured, and more fair, than people may realise.

The exact process may vary slightly from council to council, but here’s what it often involves (based on my experience):

🧾 Step 1: We assess the complaint

Not every complaint leads to a visit.
The first step is reviewing the info we’ve received:

• Is it credible?
• Are the dates and symptoms realistic?
• Has the person provided enough to investigate?
• Is there a pattern of previous complaints or concerns about the business?

📞 Step 2: We follow up

We might need further information so we may:

• Call the person who made the complaint (they may have photos, food or receipts we need to see)
• Contact the business to talk it through
• Or turn up unannounced to take a look ourselves

And no, we’re not walking in hoping to catch you out.
We’re walking in hoping we don’t find anything serious.

🔍 Step 3: We look for evidence

During a visit, we’ll be checking things like:

• Hygiene practices
• Pest control
• Staff knowledge and behaviour
• Cleaning standards and schedules
• Temperature checks
• Any food related to the complaint

🧼 Food Safety Tip: How you respond…

✔️ Don’t panic: One complaint doesn’t mean you’re in trouble. Most investigations are straightforward.

✔️ Be open and honest: If something went wrong, acknowledge it. Trying to cover it up almost always makes it worse

✔️ Use complaints as learning tools: Even unfair ones can highlight gaps in training or communication. Use them to tighten things up.

✔️ Know what an officer may ask for: This might include your menu, ingredient info, supplier details, temperature records, staff working at the time, and logs of customer served (if available). Officers may also need to take food samples or swabs. The key? Cooperate fully.

The Serious Lesson

Getting a complaint is never fun.

But the way you respond to it? That tells us everything.

The best food businesses I worked with didn’t just deal with complaints, they learned from them. They used those moments to tighten systems, retrain teams, and build customer trust.