The London Port Health Authority is
the designated Food Authority for the Port of London and the
lower Reaches of the River Medway, including the ports of
Tilbury, Thamesport, Sheerness and airside at London City
Airport, under the provisions of the EC Regulation 852/2004
and the Food Safety Act 1990. Within its district of over 150
kilometres (94 miles) of River and Estuary it is
responsible for enforcing food hygiene and food safety and
food standards law on board river pleasure craft, permanently
moored bar/restaurant cafe, merchant vessels and including
passenger vessels and cruise ships, aircraft and
airside airport food premises.
The food hygiene and safety work carried out by officers of the
authority is monitored by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which is
an executive agency of the UK Government. London Port Health
Authority complies with the Food Standards Agency's Code of
Practice and Practice Guidance on Food Safety Enforcement. Further
information may be obtained from the
FSA
website.
Officers of the London Port Health Authority (LPHA) have
both an enforcement and an advisory or educational role. They carry
out inspections of pleasure craft and merchant vessels on
the river, in order to ensure that food safety and hygiene
standards set down in EC Regulation 852/2004 and the Food Safety
Act are being met and that the health of consumers is being
protected from infectious diseases such as food poisoning and
waterborne infections. The Food Hygiene (Ships and Aircraft)
(England and Scotland) Order 2003 (as amended) applies
the food hygiene regulations to merchant vessels and
aircraft entering the LPHA district. Officers also offer guidance
and information on meeting the standards, changes in legislation
and matters of general public health concern in relation to food,
for example Food Alerts issued by the FSA.
All UK legislation, including relevant Orders, may be obtained
from the Office
of Public Sector Information (the re-branded HMSO
website).
LPHA has produced Guidance Notes on Food Safety and Hygiene
which may be downloaded,
view the current list here.
For further information about food hygiene legislation, changes
in legislation or further advice
email us.
For information about food hygiene training visit the City of
London's
Environmental Health page
Food produced or sold on board river craft, merchant vessels,
aircraft and in dock premises may be sampled for
microbiological quality to ensure it is safe to consume and doesn’t
make people ill, whether they are ship or aircraft crew or
passengers. Drinking water supplies both at berths and piers and on
board river craft, merchant vessels and aircraft are closely
monitored as a part of the Authority's food safety and hygiene
enforcement duties to ensure its potability. Samples are submitted
to laboratories for examination and these provide the Authority
with certificates of examination and scientific opinion. The
results assist Officers in determining the safety of food or
water for consumption or in the production of food.
Potable water quality on vessels are subject to EC Regulation
852/2004 which requires the proper implementation of Hazard
Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) procedures including
monitoring and record-keeping. These include bunkering procedures,
supply hose and storage tank disinfection, maintenance of the free
residual chlorine level at not less than 0.2 mg/L (ppm) and
periodic microbiological assay of the water. Shipping companies and
responsible ships' officers are encouraged to discuss these
requirements with the relevant Port Health Officer. Detailed
authoritative advice is contained in a booklet entitled 'Guidelines
For Water Quality On Board Merchant Ships Including Passenger
Vessels' published by the Health Protection Agency and can be
ordered on
their website.
LPHA has also produced advice for the super chlorination of
potable water tanks on vessels.
Download a PDF of the LPHA chlorination
advice (34kb)
Many of the river pleasure craft are defined as food premises
within the Food Safety Act 1990 and are, therefore, required to
register with the London Port Health Authority. The main purpose of
this is to provide the Authority with up-to-date information on
food premises within the district so they may be visited as
necessary. The frequency of routine programmed inspection visits
depends upon the nature and type of food business and can vary
from six monthly to once every five years.
Because ships and aircraft move from port to port, often
visiting the UK infrequently, liaison between port health
authorities takes place to ensure that follow-up visits and
inspections are undertaken to monitor progress with any matters
that need rectifying. Liaison between authorities also takes place
to ensure that there is planning and consistency of inspection,
enforcement and educational activities. The
Association of Port Health Authorities (APHA)
performs a vital role in this liaison process, including the
provision of a link between the Port State Control Agency for
ships, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), and local
port health authorities. This is achieved by the use of a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Port Health Authorities
and the MCA.