For when a report has been made regarding an alleged food poisoning. This article explains how to log the report using the 'Alleged Food Poisoning' form in the Helpline Module.
- In the left vertical navigation menu, click 'Helpline'.
- Click the 'Add Case' tab.
- Click the 'Alleged Food Poisoning' option located in the 'Food' section.
Logging the case
Location: This is automatically populated for users who have access to a single location. For users with access to multiple locations, either type the location name or click 'Show List' and choose the location from the list.
Department: Which area of the business the case relates to, for example, Private Dining Suite, Terrace Café. This is an optional field.
Your internal reference: Use for any internal reference system. This is an optional field.
Describe what happened: Log a brief description of the incident being reported. Once the case is saved, more specific information should be recorded in the specific fields provided.
Date and time food was eaten: Click the calendar icon to choose a date from the calendar or click the date field to type the date the suspect meal /food was consumed. Add the time using the up and down arrows on the hours (HH) and minutes (MM) fields.
How were you notified of the incident? How was the complaint received into the business? (drop-down option)
- Click 'Save Case' to save the Alleged Food Poisoning case under the 'My Cases' tab.
Updating a case
Once a case has been raised, further information should be added as the matter is investigated through to conclusion. The case is now available via the 'My Cases' tab.
The case can be identified using the:
- 'Location' column to identify which location the case was logged at.
- 'Date' column to identify the date the case was raised.
- The 'Type' column to identify the type of case raised, ie, 'Alleged Food Poisoning' or 'Allergy/Intolerance'.
- Once the correct case is identified, click the relevant Reference number to open the record.
- Click the 'Edit' buttons to expand the sections.
- Specific details can now be recorded in the relevant fields.
- When all updates have been made, click the 'Save Changes' button for that section.
- Click the 'View' button to view the information in any section.
- The fields relating to each section are listed below.
Incident Details
Name of complainant: Person making complaint.
Name of person affected: Person suffering symptoms (may not be the person making the complaint).
Age: Select the age range of the affected person (select 'unknown' where complainant or affected person refuse to provide details).
Email address: The affected person may prefer to have written communications sent via email.
Phone number: Contact number - Shield Safety will not phone customers on your behalf unless specific permission has been granted by the complainant. You must request Shield Safety to communicate with the customer on your behalf.
Address: Shield Safety will not write to customers on your behalf unless specific permission has been granted by the complainant. You must request Shield Safety to communicate with the customer on your behalf.
Does the affected individual give permission for Shield Safety to contact them as part of the incident investigation?: In relation to the above, it must be explained to the complainant that Shield Safety are positioned to represent you in communications regarding the matter. Select "Yes" only if the customer agrees that this acceptable.
Supplementary Information
Please enter the date and time that the customer visited your premises: This may differ from the time the complainant consumed the suspect food.
Date and time of onset symptoms: When did the guest report they first started experiencing symptoms?
Symptoms: What symptoms has the guest reported experiencing? (select all that apply). If 'Other' is selected, a new text field is opened to record the details.
Detail the food item/meals the customer ate on your premises (name, use by date, batch number, number sold that day): Provide as much detail about the guest's meal as possible. Also include the number of sales of those dishes on that day. Batch codes and serial numbers should be recorded, along with details of suppliers. Items prepared in-house should be stated.
- The remaining questions in the section help establish the circumstances and rule out any other cause of the illness.
- With the exception of the final question, if the questions are answered "Yes", a text box is provided to record the details.
What did you do about this incident
What did you do to investigate this incident?: Conduct an internal investigation as soon as possible. Speak to those involved in preparing the meal to establish information about the food and its preparation. For example, was there anything done differently to normal? Are the staff preparing the meal properly trained? Are the waiters aware of the latest allergen information?
Are there any concerns with kitchen documentation such as missed temperature records? If answered "Yes", a text box is provided to record the concerns.
What is your conclusion from this investigation?: Shield Safety will review your responses as part of the investigation. It is important to be factually accurate. Did the order go through marked as “allergen case”? Was any food substituted from the normal specification? Were allergens properly checked with the guest when they enquired? This is not an exhaustive list of questions.
Actions taken
Use this section to log any follow up activities which have taken place as a result of your own internal investigation.
If any of these questions are answered “Yes”, a text field is opened to record the details.
With the exception of the final question, if you have answered “No” to all of these questions, you are confirming that all processes were applied correctly, and your procedures and processes are robust. The final question is to provide justification in circumstances where no changes have been made.
Customer communication
This section is used mainly to record any customer interactions relating to this case.
To assure your guests that complaints are taken seriously you should keep open channels of communication with them throughout the investigation. Investigations may take several weeks or longer to complete and the guest needs to be assured that they are not being ignored.
Action plan
From your investigation, you can create an action plan, e.g. retrain part-time waiting staff. You can enter as many action points as are needed to prevent repeat incidents. To add a new Action, click the "+ Add Action" button.
The Shield Safety team can also create action plans for you which will appear in this section.
Reports can be extracted by Admin users to see where action plans have exceeded their deadlines.
Notes
Shield Safety use the Notes section to communicate with you about the case. They may ask for documents, photographs, extra information or clarifications, Please respond to these as quickly as possible by “Adding a Note”.
If you are asked to add a photo etc, please put a note here to say “picture added” or something similar.
Users may receive RiskProof alerts to inform them that Shield Safety have added a note to the case. This is subject to User Role Alert settings.
You can also add your own notes to Shield Safety via this method.
Photos and attachments
If you are requested to provide documents etc either via the Notes or Action Plan section, this is where you upload them
Simply click the link and select the relevant file. It is beneficial to include file names that clearly identify the subject e.g. “Temperature checks”