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Shopping · the UK
Updated September 2026

🤢 I got sick from a restaurant or a product — who do I report it to?

Direct answer

See a doctor first if it is serious — Your family doctor (GP) — and ask for a stool test; that is the only proof of the cause. Then report the restaurant or the product to Food Standards Agency / council Environmental Health (020 7276 8829), the food-safety authority for the UK: they inspect, can close a kitchen, and trigger a product recall. Council Environmental Health / Housing Standards (gov.uk) handles local hygiene complaints in many countries. Keep the receipt, the packaging and, if you can, a sample of the food in the freezer.

Call firstFood Standards Agency / council Environmental Health
Report toCouncil Environmental Health / Housing Standards
If that failsYour family doctor (GP)

🗣️ What to say

"On [date] I ate [what] at [restaurant / bought at shop, brand, batch number]. From [time] I had [symptoms] for [duration]; [doctor visit / test result]. I want to report a suspected food-poisoning case; receipt and packaging kept."

🪜 Step by step

  1. Doctor and testEspecially with fever, blood or symptoms over two days. The lab result names the germ, which links your case to others.
  2. Keep the evidenceReceipt, packaging with batch number, photos, leftovers frozen in a bag.
  3. Report to Food Standards Agency / council Environmental HealthOnline form. Two reports about the same place in a week get an inspection.
  4. Tell the restaurant or producerIn writing. Their insurer may compensate; an honest place wants to know.
  5. CompensationMedical costs, lost wages and pain can be claimed from the business; the report and test result are the basis.

📇 All contacts

Food Standards Agency / council Environmental HealthFood safety complaints, food poisoning reports, recallsSuspected food poisoning📞 020 7276 8829🔗 www.food.gov.uk/contact/consumers/report-problem
Council Environmental Health / Housing StandardsUnfit housing, damp and mould, pests, noise, food hygieneWhen health is at risk at home🔗 www.gov.uk/report-problem-to-council
Your family doctor (GP)First point of contact for any health questionBefore a specialist, for a referral or a sick note
Citizens Advice consumer helplineConsumer rights, complaint letters, referral to Trading StandardsWhen the shop refuses📞 0808 223 1133🔗 www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer

❓ Frequently asked

Was it really that meal?

Symptoms within 6–48 hours point to the last one or two meals, but some germs take days. The test result and other reports decide.

Will they close the restaurant?

Only if the inspection finds a problem. Your report is one input; the inspector's findings are what count.

I found a foreign object in a product

Keep it and the packaging, photograph, report to Food Standards Agency / council Environmental Health with the batch number — that is a recall trigger.

📎 Sources

Last checked: 2026-09-26

🔎 Common searches

Recognise your own search? The answer above covers all of these.

  • “report food poisoning restaurant the UK”
  • “food safety authority complaint the UK”
  • “food poisoning compensation”
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  • “foreign object in food report”

🧭 Is this still correct?

We check this information carefully, but phone numbers, websites and rules change — and sometimes we get something wrong. Spotted a mistake or a change? Let us know below.

🔗 Related questions

🏥Medical complaint→📦Faulty goods, no refund→🚚Parcel not delivered→📶Phone or internet contract→

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