About Magazine Issue 28 - Summer 2005

Tough Target set to Reduce Food poisoning

Each year it is estimated that as many as 5.5 million people in the UK suffer from food borne illnesses - that’s one in 10 people.

The Government, through the Food Standards Agency, has set a target of reducing food borne illness by 20% by the year 2006 and in order to achieve this is investing £20 million over five years.

Some of this funding is being spent on the Safer Food Better Business package, designed to help businesses improve food safety standards and assist them to comply with new food safety legislation, due to come into force on January 1, 2006.  This Safer Food, Better Business pack aims to engage the caterer in practical terms and is based on the 4Cs campaign (Cooking, Chilling, Cleaning and Cross-contamination).

However individuals still have a controlling influence on the food they eat both at home, eating out and on holiday.  Consumers are becoming more aware of the standards to expect and you don’t need to be an expert to tell if hot food is not hot enough or food you would normally keep in the fridge is too warm.

A few food poisoning outbreaks still hit the headlines but over 95% of all cases still occur from food prepared in the home.

Councillor Godfrey Daniel, portfolio holder for safety, said:

"We can all follow the 4Cs principles in our own homes to keep ourselves and our families safe."

Further advice can be found on the Food Standards Agency Website www.food.gov.uk

Food Scares in Hastings

April’s recall of food products containing the illegal cancer-causing dye Para Red, along with the high profile recall of more than 600 products containing Sudan 1 earlier this year, led the Environmental Health Office in Hastings to contact more than 1,000 businesses.

All types of business were affected, from individual corner shops to a local manufacturer with national distribution, to ensure rapid removal of all products that could cause long term health damage.  These dyes were developed for staining shoe polish and oils such as diesel and although did not present a high risk to health in small doses they had been shown to lead to the development of cancer.

Principal Environmental Health officer Ian Wheeler said:

"The main problem we faced was that the list of products was being added to daily.  Businesses with internet access were able to contact the Food Standards Agency (FSA) directly through their website but we had to ensure noone slipped through the net."

FSA Chief Executive, Jon Bell, said:

"Local authorities have played a crucial role.  I would like to express our appreciation of the efforts made by them in dealing with this incident."

Further help can be obtained from the FSA website www.food.gov.uk or by telephoning the Commercial Team of Environmental Health at Century House on 01424 783239.

Fingertip facts

Did you know:

• Up to half of all men and a quarter of women fail to wash their hands after they’ve been to the toilet.
• The number of germs on your fingertips doubles after you use the toilet.
• Damp hands spread 1,000 times more germs than dry hands
• Germs can stay alive on hands for up to three hours.
• Millions of germs hide under watches and bracelets and there could be as many germs under your ring as there are people in Europe.

Keeping our hands clean is a crucial line of defence against harmful bacteria.  Getting in the habit of washing them regularly will pay off for a lifetime.

Back to top of page...

< Emergency Planning | Small Change - Big Difference >