Food and drink organisations

This information applies to Scotland only

If you want advice about food choices, or if you want to complain about the quality of food, there are a number of organisations you can contact. This page tells you where to find the information you want.

Environmental health department and trading standards department

Problems or concerns about poor hygiene and safety in a food outlet or a trading standards issue such as food mislabelling should be reported to the local authority responsible for the food business in question. Find your local authority to report a food problem on the Food Standards Scotland website.

Environmental Health Officers deal with all food law enforcement matters. They will consider whether to investigate your complaint and will notify you of the outcome. If they decide that the complaint is a serious local issue or is of wider concern, they will inform Food Standards Scotland.

Trade associations

If you've complained to the trader or manufacturer and the response is unsatisfactory, you can to report the matter to a relevant trade association if the trader or manufacturer is a member. The trade association may be able to investigate and help you resolve the complaint.

The Food and Drink Federation have a list of some manufacturers' trade associations.

Food Standards Scotland

Food Standards Scotland is the main body responsible for food safety in Scotland. It aims to:

• provide advice and information to the public on food issues
• ensure that food is safe to eat
• improve consumer understanding of food safety, standards and nutrition through consistent and accurate labelling.

You can find more information on the Food Standards Scotland website.