$41.7M. The largest ever fine for ignoring food hygiene laws was imposed upon Family Dollar for allowing rodents to roam free in their warehouse.
Presence of rats is about the most serious transgression of food hygiene laws and one which will usually guarantee your business will be closed.
Full article here
A recent review* of the operation of the FHRS in Wales has produced a recommendation to work towards mandatory on-line display:
“The FSA recognises the opportunity for stakeholders to work together to develop proposals to extend the scope of the statutory FHRS that will aim to introduce legislation in Wales that makes it mandatory for food business operators to display their food hygiene rating online.”
*Review of the Implementation and Operation of the Statutory Food Hygiene Rating Scheme in Wales, February 2024
The Scottish Consumer Council (SCC) says it is unacceptable that customers can find out more via the internet about the cleanliness of a burger joint in the US than they can about restaurants in Scotland.
They are calling for full inspection reports to be made available to the public and forcing food businesses to display details of transgressions on their premises.
The chairman of the SCC, Graeme Millar, said: “The stark reality today is that consumers in Scotland can log on to the internet and find out about hygiene standards in restaurants in Richmond, Virginia, but they cannot do the same for eating places round the corner.
Hang on a minute, Graeme, that’s not really true is it? The reality is that Scottish consumers have been able to check the scores on our website (and that of FSA and FSS) for well over a decade. Yes we know that for Scotland they can only see Pass or Improvement Required. And yes we know that FSS are considering moving to a more graded scheme like the rest of the UK.
But should full EHO inspection reports be made available to consumers? Well yes of course. And they actually already are. Although they can be quite complex and not easy to understand. Also, a consumer would need to write in to the relevant Local Authority under the Freedom of Information Act to request the document. Which in turn must be provided within 20 days.
Not very handy if you want to decide whether to get a take away from your local chippy tonight though is it? Which is why we introduced to 0-5 star grades online back in – wait for it – 2005.
Now recognised as the most effective measure of delivering improvement in compliance and voted in the top 20 of all Environmental initiatives this century by RSPH. Complaince up in Wales by 27 percentage points.
We would suggest the best response would be for Scotland to catch up with a 0-5 star rating scheme, matching the rest of UK. And make display of the sticker compulsory.
Full article from the Scotsman
FSA Chair to step down. Susan Jebb announced today that she will step down at the end of June 2024 marking 3 years since she was appointed.
First drug to reduce allergic reactions approved by FDA.
In the United States Xolair has now been approved. Through regular use of the treatment, the manufacturer claims it can help reduce the severity of allergic reactions.
Full story here
30 confirmed cases of E.coli may be linked to contaminated cheese that was recalled on Christmas Day. Urgent recall of Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire cheese undertaken. If you have this in your fridge read the guidance below.
An urgent recall of four types of Mrs Kirkham’s Lancashire cheese, which is produced in Preston, began on Monday.
The UK Health Security Agency said at least 30 reported cases were of the “specific outbreak strain” thought to have been in the cheese.
Anyone who bought the cheese was told to follow advice and recall notices.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and UKHSA have warned the public not to eat four cheeses:
They said the cheese was “recalled as a precaution” because it may have been “contaminated with a specific type of E.coli bacteria called Shiga toxin producing E.coli, also known as STEC or VTEC, a pathogen that can cause food poisoning”.
The FSA said symptoms caused by STEC organisms include severe diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and sometimes haemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can lead to kidney failure and can be fatal.
It urged anyone who bought the cheeses to refrain from eating the product, thoroughly clean any surfaces, utensils and equipment it may have touched and make sure that fridges are kept at 5°C or below to “limit the growth of any harmful bacteria”.
The FSA’s head of incidents Tina Potter said consumers must “check whether they have bought or been gifted this product”.
“Due to this outbreak… we are urging all consumers to ensure they follow the advice in the product recall notices, which details all of the products which may pose a risk,” she said.
Amy Douglas, UKHSA’s incident director, said there had been “at least 30 confirmed cases of this specific outbreak strain of STEC in the UK”.
She said it was vital that people washed their hands “with soap and warm water” and used “bleach-based products to clean surfaces” to help stop infections from spreading.
She added that anyone who had symptoms should not prepare food for others until 48 hours after they stop.
“If you are unwell, you should avoid visiting people in hospitals and care homes to avoid passing on the infection in these settings,” she said.
“Do not return to work or school, once term restarts, until 48 hours after your symptoms have stopped.”
The two agencies said they would “continue to work closely together and with local authorities in response to this outbreak” and further recalls “may be undertaken” if any more products were found to be affected.
Congratulations to Morrisons who have become the first major supermarket to offer an option to consumers on their website to Buy British.
Allergens to be mandatory on menus. Great news for Allergen sufferers following last week’s report into yet another related death. Georgina Mansergh died in February this year after not specifying she had a nut allergy and being served sesame seed oil. FSA this week agreed to back moves towards introducing an ‘Owen’s Law’ forcing food businesses to list allergens on menus.
We’re not there yet, but this is a very welcome move towards preventing such tragedies in the future.
Wales celebrates 10 years of compulsory sticker display – compliance up 27 percentage points.
71% of Welsh food businesses now have the top hygiene rating of 5 – a jump from 44% from 10 years ago – making it the highest on record in Wales.
In 2013, Wales became the first country in the UK to make it a legal requirement to display hygiene rating stickers in prominent places, like front doors and windows of food businesses.
Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Lynne Neagle said:
“Everyone in Wales deserves to enjoy their food, with full confidence that it has been prepared in a hygienic manner – the mandatory display of food hygiene ratings has done just that.
Professor Susan Jebb, Chair of the Food Standards Agency, said:
“The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is rightly celebrated as one of the most significant public health achievements of the 21st century.
The striking black and green stickers on display at restaurants, cafes, supermarkets and online, are a simple and transparent way of giving people the reassurance that food is being prepared and served in a clean and hygienic way, and the business is meeting its legislative requirements for food hygiene.
The scheme allows people to vote with their feet or by a click of a button and choose those businesses that take food hygiene seriously.
I’m grateful to the Welsh Government for their commitment to making this a mandatory requirement which has been crucial to the Scheme’s success.
A worker was caught peeing into a tank of ingredients at a Chinese beer factory in a disgusting video.
The clip, which went viral, shows a man in a uniform and a hard hat clambering into a container believed to hold raw ingredients for the beer and urinating inside.
Apparantly the man filmed was not a Tsingtao employee, but a loader hired by a third-party labour supplier.
Tsingtao commented “At present, the batch of malt in question has been completely sealed. The company continues to strengthen its management procedures and ensure product quality.”
Following the video going viral, Tsingtao shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange dropped by 7.5%
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