Food Safety Week - 6-10 June 2011

Food Hygiene and Safety in your Home

In a recent survey people were asked whether they thought a range of statements about food safety were true or false - from the truth about 'use by' dates to the infamous 'five second rule' for food dropped on the floor.

The survey showed that most people in the South East are aware of good hygiene in the kitchen, but are less likely to understand the greater importance of "use by" over "best before" dates in relation to food safety.

Across the country findings show more than half of us believe that we can tell if food is safe to eat just by its appearance or smell. This is wrong, as potentially dangerous food bugs like |E. coli and |Salmonella do not always make food smell 'off' and do not affect the appearance of food.

Read more about our common misconceptions about food safety and related advice:

• |Dispelling some commonly held food safety myths
• |Barbeque safety advice and tips
• |Wash hands regularly to prevent person-to-person spread of E. coli

Food Hygiene and Safety for Food Business Operators

Environmental Health & Licensing is highlighting the Food Standards Agency (FSA) guidance for food businesses, clarifying steps that you need to take as a food business operator to control the potential of any food being contaminated by E. coli O157.

|The full guide is available to view or download at the FSAs website

This guidance has been developed in response to serious outbreaks of E. coli O157 in both Scotland in 1996 and Wales in 2005, the consequences of which were fatal. The main cause that attributed to these outbreaks was cross-contamination, due to poor food handling practices and techniques. Therefore, it is considered critical that food businesses handling both raw and ready-to-eat foods put in place specific E. coli control measures. Additionally, these measures will also help to control other hazardous pathogenic organisms, such as |Campylobacter and |Salmonella.

Find out more about what you can do to ensure your food business is serving safe food to your customers:

• |E. coli Fact Sheet
• |E. coli checklist for your Food Business
• |Wash hands regularly to prevent person-to-person spread of E. coli
• |Food Standards Agency information
• |Health Protection Agency information
• |Pennington Report - September 2005 saw the largest ever outbreak of E. coli in Wales and the second largest in the UK. Professor Hugh Pennington was appointed to Chair the Inquiry.

Further information

• |Food poisoning information
• |Summer eating
• |Food Hygiene Training
• |Food Hygiene Ratings - view the standards of hygiene at food premises within Elmbridge
• |Eat Out, Eat Well award
• |Food Hygiene & Safety webpages
• |Food Standards Agency (FSA)