Flintshire County Council is looking to approve the new Food Service Plan to ensure the quality of food hygiene is maintained.

The Food Service Plan sets out the aims and objectives for the service for this financial year and how these are to be achieved.

The 2021-22 plan has been delayed due to the pressures brought about on the service by the global pandemic.

The plan covers food safety, and the enforcement of food safety. It further looks at food hygiene legislation in all food establishments in the county, food standards (checking establishments and dealing with complaints) and animal feed (visits to feed premises, providing information and dealing with complaints).

Flintshire Council's cabinet member for planning and public protection, Councillor Chris Bithell, said: "By approving this year's Food Service Plan, the Cabinet will ensure that the high level food safety and hygiene already established within the county will continue. Our Food Safety and Standards team works extremely hard to ensure that the residents of Flintshire can have confidence in a high level of hygiene when it comes to food.

"I must add that the team has had some impressive achievements over the past year including those listed below. On behalf of the Cabinet, congratulations to you all on a job well done, especially during such a challenging time."

Key achievements for 2020-21 include:

• The commitment shown by all officers across the service was excellent at such a challenging, fast-evolving time and they played a significant role in helping to track down people who had been in contact with those who had tested positive for Covid-19, thus helping to reduce the spread of the virus.

• Food officers were able to provide advice to businesses affected by the Covid regulations to protect public health and consumer protection, in addition to assisting local food businesses to continue to trade.

• Feed qualified and competent officers moved over to providing advice and enforcement duties on the Covid regulations while maintaining a reduced level of feed work for inspections and advice to businesses

• Officers had to move from Covid response to food work and back again, if needed, at very short notice to pick up product specific regulatory work or significant food hygiene issues.

Flintshire Council's Cabinet committee will be asked to approve the Food Service Plan 21-22 when it meets on Tuesday, January 18.