07. What if there is something wrong with the food I buy?

The terms of the Sale of Goods Act and the Consumer Protection Act also apply to food that you buy. If the food you buy turns out to be 'contaminated', you may be able to claim compensation. Food can be contaminated by:

• bacteria which gave someone food poisoning; or  
• unwanted objects, such as glass or metal, which hurt or could have hurt someone.

You could claim against:

• the retailer you bought it from, because the food was not 'of satisfactory quality' under the Sale of Goods Act; or  
• the food manufacturer, because the food was not safe under the Consumer Protection Act.

If you do want to claim, you will probably need to keep evidence that the food was contaminated. If the food made someone ill, you may need a doctor's report to prove it.

If you think you were made ill by food in a restaurant, you could claim compensation for:

• the cost of the meal;  
• pain and suffering caused by the illness; and  
• any loss of earnings or other expenses (for example, for time off work when you were ill or to pay for childcare).

The Food Safety Act 1990 says it is illegal to serve food that is not fit for humans to eat. You should tell the council's Environmental Health Department (for the area the restaurant is in).