THE spread of businesses that sell food solely on social media is providing “a lot of challenges” to those who monitor food businesses in Bradford, it has been revealed.

Advances in technology and the Covid pandemic have come together to lead to a massive increase in home-based food businesses.

Food providers that distribute via business like Just Eat or Ubereats need to be registered and inspected – leading to them getting food hygiene ratings.

However, some home businesses have started advertising exclusively on social media, meaning they contravene the usual food safety process.

With the entire process taking place online, and customers who order by mail not knowing where the business is based, the usual food hygiene safeguards are not in place.

The issue was discussed at a meeting of Bradford Council’s Regeneration and Environment Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday.

Members of the Council’s Food Safety team were discussing the pressures facing the department, and the changes they have experienced in recent years.

Big backlog in food businesses waiting for hygiene inspections

The Committee was told that during lockdown there was a big rise in the number of new food businesses based from people’s homes, rather than traditional restaurants, cafes or take aways.

Many were registered, but there had also been an increase in the number of businesses using social media or services like Ebay to advertise their goods.

Angela Brindle, environmental health manager, said: “We have a big problem with premises that just operate on social media when we don’t know where they are based.

“The Food Standards Agency is trying to work with social media platforms to make sure businesses are registered if the advertise on Facebook or other social media.

“We recently had a complaint that someone on Facebook was selling ready made meals to retailers, and the claim was that it was someone from Bradford.

“But we have to find out where that business is.

“The social media age is proving to give us a lot of challenges.

“People are moving away from operating from fixed premises to preparing food at home and selling it online.

“Until recently these businesses were quite low risk ones – ones like cake makers. Now we have people selling more high-risk products from a food safety standpoint.

“As an example, we recently had someone selling beef jerky he had made at home.

“It is a huge change in how we operate – it is very difficult to find out where these businesses are.”