Council officer acknowledged for exemplary work with award
A member of Staffordshire Council's Trading Standards team has given a national award for her work.
Alison Richardson was awarded the first Megan Lee Hero Award at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) annual Hero Awards ceremony, which celebrates outstanding achievements in consumer protection.
The Hero Awards were hosted on November 22 by CTSI and Yvonne Fovargue MP in the House of Commons and recognised individuals and groups that have gone above and beyond to protect consumers and support honest businesses.
The Megan Lee Award is named in honour of Megan Lee, who lost her life at the age of 15 after eating a takeaway with undisclosed allergens, and CTSI created the award to recognise individuals or groups that have done something outstanding to protect the public from serious food safety breaches.
Alison Richardson was commended for leading Operation Taste, which carried out food standards inspections at more than 2,500 retail premises that are traditionally rated as low risk.
She found multiple issues during her inspections, which resulted in multiple product recalls and notifications made to the Food Standards Agency Incidents Team.
Stephanie Young, Trading Standards Lead at Staffordshire County Council, said: “Alison is a true asset to our Trading standards Service and is well respected by peers locally and regionally for her technical knowledge, commitment, and drive.
"Alison’s interventions have no doubt saved members of the public from serious food safety breaches that could have led to more tragic fatalities.”
CTSI Chief Executive John Herriman said: “The Megan Lee Hero Award is one that is close to our hearts here at CTSI as we have supported Megan’s parents in their campaign work to raise awareness about the dangers of undisclosed allergens and to help avoid another family from losing a loved one.
"They are an inspiration to us all.
"Alison has demonstrated a dedication to ensuring food safety is a priority in Staffordshire and is such a worthy winner of this special Award.”
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) supported the award category and Louise Hosking, Executive Director at CIEH helped to present the Award alongside Jenni Falconer, the host for the evening.
