Food Complaints

Finding something wrong with food that you have purchased can be an unpleasant experience.  However, not all food complaints pose a risk to health, and can be resolved by returning the food to the retailer to request a refund and/or exchange. 

The food and safety team will investigate complaints about:

• food which contains foreign bodies, for example metal, glass or plastic (if the food was prepared or made in Babergh or Mid Suffolk councils)
• the sale of mouldy and unfit food
• the sale of products past their use-by date

If you suspect that you have food poisoning which has been caused by consuming a food product you should visit your GP and submit a faecal (stool) sample for analysis. When we receive the sample result we will contact you to make further enquiries. We will only investigate allegations of food poisoning if a faecal sample has been submitted. Further information on food-borne illness can be found on the GOV.UK website for Infections diseases: detailed information.

The food and safety team will not investigate complaints about:

• food quality
• poor customer service
• falsely described or incorrectly labelled food and drink
• claims for compensation or refunds
• anonymous complaints
• complaints about food which wasn’t prepared or made in the Babergh or Mid Suffolk area. 

These complaints should be referred to the business at which the food was prepared or made.

Our colleagues at Trading Standards investigate complaints about  labelling, composition and allergen issues, and can be contacted on 0808231133. More information can be found online on the Citizens Advice web page for Reporting to Trading Standards

 Report a food complaint online  

More information on common food complaints can be found on our guide to common food complaints.