We eat and drink every day, and many of us have questions about how our food is produced and sold, as well as how we should handle it safely. There is a feast of information available, much of it on the Internet.

Eating out

The BBC’s Watchdog website has advice on matters such as whether you have to pay a service charge, and it includes tips on how to complain effectively if you’re not satisfied with the food or service.

Pricing

There are specific rules traders are required to follow when it comes to marking and displaying prices. You can find these listed on the Trading Standards Net website.

If you have a complaint about how clearly or honestly prices are marked up in a shop, you can contact your local trading standards office. You can find their address using the TS.net website.

Food safety

The Food and Drink Federation has an excellent website, Foodlink, which includes useful tips on food safety and food poisoning. The Digestive Disorders Foundation website has advice on how to treat cases of food poisoning.

The British Egg Information Service website has advice on buying, storing and cooking eggs, as well as background on the steps taken to reduce the incidence of salmonella.

BSE and CJD

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has a clear factsheet setting out what BSE is, what steps have been taken to prevent it and the link to vCJD. The sheet also contains a summary of WHO’s recommendations on reducing exposure to BSE.

The Food Standards Agency too has produced a guide to BSE which has UK-specific information on the disease and measures to control it.

Genetically Modified (GM) food

For clear background information (without any jargon) on what genetically modified crops are, and what the benefits and risks are, visit the Food and Drink Federation’s foodfuture website.

The Food Standard Agency’s website has additional information including the labelling requirements of GM foods.

Additives and labelling

The Food Standards Agency has useful facts on-line about what information must be shown on food labels, including information on additives.

Last updated: 18 March 2004