A quarter of councils don’t have enough food safety officers as Scotland faces a massive nationwide shortage, worrying stats reveal. Data seen by the Record from 27 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities shows there is a 20 per cent shortfall overall in the number of food safety officers (FSOs).

And among the eight councils missing staffing targets are some of the biggest in Scotland, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and North Lanarkshire. FSOs regularly inspect food businesses to ensure the products they’re selling are legal and safe to eat and checking premises meet health and safety rules.

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