RIBBLE Valley, Pendle and Rossendale councils have been named in the top 10 local authorities to ensure businesses complied with food safety regulations after last year’s horse meat scandal.
The figures – released by Which? – followed an investigation into 395 local authorities across the country using data from the Food Standards Agency.
The figures show that 96.5 per cent of the 791 establishments in Pendle were found to be ‘broadly compliant’ with the regulations.
They also show that out of the 717 establishments in Rossendale, 98.6 per cent were found to be broadly compliant, and of 736 establishments in the Ribble Valley, 94.5 per cent were broadly compliant.
The figures come a year on from the scandal which exposed companies for introducing horse meat into the food chain. The FSA data also shows that overall food testing fell by 6.8 per cent on the previous year and testing for labelling and presentation fell by 16.2 per cent.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: “No-one wants another horsemeat fiasco, so it is very worrying that local authority food checks are in decline.” He called for a “more strategic approach to food law enforcement that makes the best use of limited resources.”
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