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'We check factories, restaurants and even fish stores' - environmental health officer spills the beans on the job
'Factories, restaurants and even fish stores' that's all in a day's work for an environmental health officer in North East Lincolnshire. The role may seem like it’s just about checking on a takeaway, or making sure food is stored correctly, but it’s far more.
From making sure paperwork aligns to checking on health and safety procedures, the officers' jobs are intricate, but above all, important. Officers inspect over a thousand sites across the borough every year from factories to restaurants and everything in between.
The risk level, rated from A-E, denotes how often a place is reviewed, which is between six months to every three years, with A being the most at-risk locations. Levels can change based on previous scores, how vulnerable the people using the site are or even the work that is carried out there.
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Sam Tramaseur has been in the job for four years, making the switch from his previous role as an electrician before joining the Council in 2020. During that time, he has embarked on a university degree to develop his skills and is now a fully-qualified Environmental Health Officer.
He said: “I went through a two-year degree before completing an ‘on the job’ portfolio and a panel with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health to achieve my Higher Certificate for food control. This means I can carry out all aspects of the job myself from visits to reporting any issues we may come across.”
On a visit to a care home in the borough, Sam carried out a range of checks and tests. Upon arrival, the first element to inspect is the paperwork and look at the food safety procedures which are in place.
This includes heating and cooling temperatures of food as well as invoices to check where the site’s produce is coming from.
“We make sure to check invoices to ensure the origin of the meat and produce is safe and clean. After that, we’ll move on to cleaning procedures to double-check that the food is being prepared in the right environment.
"We look at the smallest of details, right down to the way they use their temperature probes and how they store their cleaning cloths,” said Sam.
In this instance, he also checked rulings and training around allergies and the menu the care home provided to its residents. Following the basic checks, Sam began looking at how they kept their waste ready for removal, as well as the procedures for staff returning from illness and if there were any pest issues.
Officers also have responsibility to issue a 0-5 rating to premises that prepare food for the public to raise awareness with potential customers to the levels of hygiene in the premises. After all the checks are complete, officers meet with managers to discuss their findings and give them their final score.
Once the inspection is over, officers return to the office to write up reports before conducting their next inspection.
Sam said: “This is so different to anything I’ve done before though, but I thoroughly enjoy it. You’re always out and about meeting new people and doing something to help the people who live in North East Lincolnshire.
“Something people may not realise though is that we do much more than just takeaways, we inspect factories, restaurants and even fish stores.”
He added: “The best part has to be meeting people though. We offer a lot of advice to people who are just starting a business to make sure they have the correct procedures in place.”
However, things may not always go smoothly. “If we do find an issue, we have to refer it to a senior officer or deal with the problem ourselves if we can. One thing I will say is that every day is different and you never know what you’re going to find when you walk through the door.”
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