Food safety complaints

Our environmental health officers investigate food-related complaints. Unsafe or unsuitable food is food that:

would be likely to cause physical harm to a person
is damaged, deteriorated or perished
contains any damaged, deteriorated or perished substance
contains a biological or chemical agent, or other matter or substance foreign to the nature of the food (e.g. mould, cleaning chemicals or a piece of glass)

What to do?Investigation process Report to us

What to do?

I think I have food poisoning

If you have eaten food from a food premises within the Northern Grampians Shire and believe you have, or have had, food poisoning, you should contact council’s public health team as soon as possible on 03 5358 8700.

The time between eating the food and the appearance of the first symptoms can range from one hour to as long as a week or more. This means the last meal you ate may not necessarily be responsible.

Food does not need to be spoiled, it can look, smell and taste fine but can still cause food poisoning. An individual can experience one or more of the following symptoms in varying degrees of severity:

vomiting
fever and chills
diarrhoea
nausea
abdominal pain
bloody stools
headache
lethargy
loss of appetite

Investigation process

Complaint investigation

Food poisoning investigations can be difficult to conduct. In many cases the food poisoning has been reported too late and the suspect food has been completely consumed or discarded. However, it is still important to report your illness so that an investigation can be carried out.

If you have a food complaint, there are several things you can do to help the environmental health officer conduct their investigation:

Place any contaminated/leftover food in the freezer until an environmental health officer comes to collect it.
Keep any packaging and proof of purchase to help identify what the product is and where is was purchased.
If possible, do not remove the foreign object from the food or try to clean it.
Write down the details of where you purchased the product and the time, how you transported the product, where you stored it and when you noticed the foreign object.
If you suspect food poisoning, please consult your doctor as soon as possible. It is also important to promptly contact council's public health team on 03 5358 8700 during business hours (Monday to Friday 9.00am until 4.30pm).

Report to us

Reporting to our environmental health team

For an investigation to be conducted, a member of the public health team will be required to ask you questions that may seem quite personal. This is a normal part of the investigation process to determine when and how you may have become ill. An appointment time will need to be made with you to record the details and this will be organised for when you are feeling up to it. We can come to you for your convenience.

This information is completely confidential and will only be used for the purpose provided.

To allow an initial investigation to begin, please complete the form below.

Food and Food Business complaints >>