Is it safe to eat out?

In the UK thereare 70,000 to 80,000 cases of food poisoning reported each year. Thenumber of unreported cases could potentially be millions. European law now applies to food businesses across the UK but is this extra red tape making any difference?

Are cases offood poisoning increasing as nearly one in five food outlets fallbelow the legal food safety standards?

In the UK thereare 70,000 to 80,000 cases of food poisoning reported each year. Thenumber of unreported cases could potentially be millions.

Food poisoningis any illness brought on by eating contaminated food. It is usuallycaused by pathogenic microbes. The illness varies in severity. Thosemost at risk people who are very old, very young, malnourished orhave poor immune systems. Some food poisoning can even be fatal.

With 18% offood premises reported as having very poor food hygiene, this isclearly a significant problem.

One surveyrevealed that 12% of UK consumers (5.5 million people) said that theyhad suffered from food poisoning within the last 12 months. 76% ofthem (4.2 million people) believed that this illness was caused byfood that had been prepared outside the home.

With themigration towards a national scores on the doors systemunderway, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is certainly playing itspart to improve food safety.

The Scores onthe doors system was approved by the Food Standards Agency back inDecember. This is a six-tier system that will give consumers clearinformation about hygiene standards in food businesses. The system isfor England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland will continue witha two-tier system which shows pass or improvement required.

Thenew six-tier system is intended to encourage food businesses tostrive for high levels of food hygiene, rather than just meeting thebear minimum to achieve a pass. Businesses are given the option ofdisplaying their food hygienerating in aprominent position, hence the name scores on the doors. This willenable consumers to make informed choices about where they eat, whichis important when 18% of food outlets have very poor standards.

Critics of thenew scheme have said that Environmental Health Officers are not thereto judge, they are there to enforce the law.

Despite whatthe critics say though, pilot schemes of the new system proved to bevery successful. Norwich introduced the scheme and quickly saw adecrease of around two thirds in the number of premises that scoredzero stars. The number of premises obtaining four or five starts alsodoubled.

Food hygienelegislation does clearly state that all food handlers must have anappropriate knowledge of food hygiene, which makes it hard tounderstand why restaurants that maintain standards so far beneath thelegal requirements can still be trading. Some food poisoning bugs cantake several days to take effect, so by the time the patient feelsill, they cannot always pinpoint the cause. Is this how some of theserestaurants are getting away with it?

Itis only becoming easier for food premises to comply with the law. Thegovernment provides a free safer food better business packaimed at small catering businesses such as restaurants, cafes andtakeaways. It has been developed by the Food Standards Agency workingwith catering businesses to be practical and easy to use.

Itis also possible for food handlers to take an online food hygienecourseto gain all of the knowledge that they need to operate safely withouteven leaving their home or work.

Experts believethat the over 50% of cases of food poisoning are due to the bacteriumCampylobacter, and that over 20% are a result of Salmonellainfection. It only takes a small amount of Campylobacter to causevery severe abdominal pains, so severe that they can even be mistakenfor appendicitis. Experts also believe that that the majority ofCampylobacter poisoning cases could be avoided if good hygiene waspractised in the kitchen, when transporting foods, and by thoroughcooking of foods.

Lets hope thatfood hygiene standards will improve when the new system is in fullflow so that we can all concentrate on the enjoyment of eating outrather than the worry that we may be eating in an establishment withpoor standards and end up with food poisoning.