Trading Standards Service Performance Report 2022 to 2023
Contributing to Public Health and Wellbeing
- work has continued on Operation CeCe in conjunction with HMRC and other regional Trading Standards partners, looking into the supply of counterfeit and illicit tobacco across the region. This work has led to the prosecution of a shop owner in Stockton, who was given a 24 month community sentence and ordered to pay costs of almost £500. In addition a simple caution was issued to a local resident involved in the supply of illicit and counterfeit tobacco from her home address and a 3 month closure order was obtained against a shop premises in Thornaby
- officers have continued to advise local takeaways and other caterers selling ready to eat food, about the rules requiring the provision of accurate allergen information at the point of sale. Over the past year, officers have made almost 150 visits to outlets in the Borough checking with regard to issues around the control and management of allergens in food, giving advice on 68 of these visits
- throughout the year, officers have carried out regular underage sales test purchase exercises with young volunteers, to check whether shops are selling age restricted products such as alcohol, cigarettes, vapes and fireworks to underage children. There were 8 positive sales from a total of 34 attempts, giving a failure rate of 24%. As a result, 2 simple cautions have been issued to traders with regard to the sale of vapes to children and on another occasion the sale of illicit tobacco to a child volunteer was used as evidence to help secure a 3 month closure order against a shop in Thornaby
- the service has once again participated in the Food Standards Agency's regional animal feed hygiene inspection and sampling programme. This work helps ensure that local farms and animal feed establishments are complying with regulations to protect the safety of animal feed and hence the onward integrity of the human food chain
- a significant amount of work was undertaken during the year, looking at the safety of disposable vaping devices on sale within the Borough. Many were found on sale without the necessary approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and contained over the permitted limit of 2ml liquid and 2% nicotine. Many also lacked the required safety information. In total almost 2,000 non-compliant vapes were seized
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