You can tell us about a problem with food you’ve bought in our area or online. You can report:
- suspected food poisoning
- objects in food, for example insects, hair, glass or metal
- dirty conditions at food premises
- poor food handling or hand hygiene
- food with signs of mould or decay
- food sold past its use-by date – find out more about use-by dates on the Food Standard Agency website
You should complain directly to the food business, not us, about:
- poor-quality food
- problems with payments and refunds
- late, incorrect or missing takeaway delivery
For advice about your consumer rights, see the Citizens Advice website
How to make a complaint
To report a problem, contact our Commercial Protection Team using the details at the bottom of this page.
If your complaint is about food labelling or ingredients (composition), contact Trading Standards.
How we’ll investigate
Our investigations can include contacting those involved in supplying the food, for example the retailer, importer and packaging company, as well as analysing the food in a laboratory.
At the end of an investigation we’ll decide the most appropriate course of action, which can include prosecuting the person or company at fault. We cannot get your money back or get involved with any claim for damages as we only deal with criminal law.