Technical Profile
Rica Salamat
Food and safety officer
Stroud DC
• What do you do?
I work in the commercial services team, carrying out food and health and safety inspections, as well as investigating food complaints, accidents, infectious diseases and drainage issues. In addition, sampling work and public health funerals. I also work one day a week in Bristol City Council’s parks department in the admin team dealing with customer enquiries.
• What attracted you to working in environmental health?
I have always been interested in environmental issues and I also wanted to make a difference to people’s lives. At university I was studying for a BSc in Environmental Science and many of the first-year lectures were with environmental health. It sounded perfect as it was science based, helping people, protecting the environment and had a defined job at the end of the course. I was not permitted to switch course so as soon as I was able I went back to university to take the MSc in environmental health.
• What is the biggest challenge in your job?
Persuading businesses that complying with the legislation will actually help them run their business more efficiently as well as making things safer. Plus trying to get all the ELP work done while keeping up to date with pollution issues while learning all about the food and health and safety aspects of this post.
• What do you like most about your job?
Solving problems and learning new skills.
• What do you like the least?
Inspecting low risk food premises can be very repetitive as they rarely have problems in this district.
• What single legislative change would make your job easier?
Food businesses should have to be inspected before being permitted to open (as in some other countries) with a fixed penalty notice for failing to do so (focuses the mind).
• What change would most benefit the environmental health profession?
Increased communication via dedicated EH software, for instance, the use of a fully-integrated database for all premises that flags up issues to other departments when one department deals with them. For instance, when planning receive an application for change of use to a food premises this would automatically pop up in licensing and food and pollution as it is possible that this change could affect all of us. Businesses often assume that this does happen and are then surprised when we contact them to tell them they have failed to register their food business and they will need to consult pollution re mitigating the extractor fan overlooking their neighbour.
• Would there be any benefit to you in being an EHO/EHP? (if you are not one!)
With the benefits of hindsight - probably not, although I have completed a very expensive masters and am in the process of writing up my ELP. I really want to work in Pollution and it is on the ground experience that employers want (catch 22). Of course, in my current post it is important to prove I am competent but I would not earn a higher salary in my current post once I am fully qualified.
• What do you like to do in your spare time?
In my spare time (of which there seems to be so little these days) I mostly write ELPs. I like to read Terry Pratchett, listen to Radio 4 comedies, do a spot of gardening and am active in my local Greenpeace group. I am also a street monitor for my local area and was a volunteer and team leader with Bristol Community Festival every summer. At Bristol Zoological Gardens I care for and give presentations on animals. I enjoy DIY and have renovated a couple of houses. I have just joined the African Sambistas dance troupe instead. Eventually I hope to work in sanitation in developing countries so I like to investigate composting toilets where I can.
