Research published on voluntary display of hygiene ratings

Thursday 10 May 2012
The Food Standards Agency has published two pieces of research that assessed the level of voluntary display of its food hygiene schemes in the UK.

Independent research was commissioned to assess the level of voluntary display of Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) ratings in England and Northern Ireland, and Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) ‘Pass’ results in Scotland. Separate ongoing research, part of the wider independent evaluation of the FHRS and FHIS, considered the views of consumers, local authorities and food businesses on the issue of voluntary versus mandatory display.

The research has shown that:

43% of businesses in England and 50% in Northern Ireland that had been given an FHRS rating were displaying it
the higher the rating the more likely a business was to display: 56% of businesses in England and 57% in Northern Ireland rated ‘4’ or ‘5’ displayed, compared with 12% and 22% respectively of those rated ’0′ to ’2′
47% of businesses in Scotland were displaying their FHIS ‘Pass’ result
consumers and local authorities in FHRS/FHIS areas were generally supportive of mandatory display
businesses tended to be divided, with support for mandatory display expressed by some higher rated businesses
concerns were raised about mandatory display, such as impact on trade and resources
In 2011, similar research to assess the level of voluntary display of FHRS ratings was carried out on the FSA’s behalf in Wales. This contributed to the Welsh Government’s proposals to introduce legislation for mandatory display of FHRS ratings at food businesses in Wales.

In 2008, the FSA Board decided that display of ratings at premises should initially be voluntary, but that this should be kept under review. A mandatory approach, which would require new legislation, should be considered in future if necessary.

The Board will be reviewing the current voluntary approach to the display of ratings at its meeting on 22 May 2012.

Recall of some Tropicana kids orange juice

Wednesday 2 May 2012
PepsiCo is recalling some (277 packs) of its Tropicana Kids Orange Juice Drink multi-packs because they contain only water rather than the orange juice blend. The water is affected by microbiological contamination. If you have bought the product, don’t drink it. The Agency has issued a Product Recall Information Notice.

Product details
The product being recalled is:

Tropicana Kids Orange Juice Drink, multipack 4 x 200ml
No batch or date codes, no branding
PepsiCo has recalled the affected product. Customer notices have been displayed in stores, explaining why the product has been recalled.

If you have bought the affected product, don’t drink it. You can return it for a full refund to Tropicana:
Tropicana Consumer Care
Freepost LE4 918
Leicester LE4 5ZY

No other PepsiCo products are known to be affected.

Meat company fined for hygiene offence

Wednesday 25 April 2012
Fines and costs of over £20k have been awarded against a company found in breach of meat hygiene regulations.

On 14 February, the FSA won a case against A C Hopkins (Taunton) Ltd, a meat company that had failed to make sure meat was kept chilled throughout the entire food chain. Following this conviction, the Old Bailey judge has now announced a sentence against the company of fines and costs amounting to £23,000.

The company had failed to ensure, as required by European Union Hygiene Regulations, that pig carcasses were immediately chilled in the slaughterhouse at a temperature throughout the meat of not more than 7°C and then kept at that temperature during transport.

Andrew Rhodes, Director of Operations, said: ‘This case highlights the responsibilities food businesses and legislators have to ensure that food law is complied with. Professor Hugh Pennington, in his 2009 report on the E.coli outbreak in Wales, made the point that legislative requirements are not optional. Food businesses cannot decide what they will or will not comply with, just as legislators such as the FSA cannot pick and choose which parts of legislation we enforce or not.

‘The rules are there to protect public health, and must always be taken seriously, as the court agreed. The vast majority of meat businesses do things correctly, so there is little defence for the minority who do not comply with the law.’

Some useful information on diabetes in care homes and specific care for elderly people with diabetes

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Care-homes/

Olympic food safety campaign launched

Tuesday 3 April 2012
The Food Standards Agency has launched the Play it Safe campaign, to raise awareness of food safety during the London 2012 Games. The Agency is working with food businesses and food safety enforcement officers to ensure all food sold, cooked and eaten during the Games is safe.

The first strand of the campaign focuses on the Food Safety Squad, the 10 environmental health officers acting as ambassadors for food safety. They represent the hundreds of environmental health officers around the country who are carrying out vital work to keep visitors to the Games safe and healthy.

The campaign highlights the Agency measures being undertaken to minimise the risk of food safety incidents occurring during London 2012. These include a food safety coaching programme for small businesses in Olympic areas that are in need of improvement; funding and training initiatives for local authorities in Olympic areas; and providing extra equipment for sampling and checks on cleaning.

Sarah Appleby, Head of Enforcement and Local Authority Delivery at the FSA, said: ‘London 2012 is about celebrating everything that the UK has to offer, and food plays an important part. We want all food business owners to ensure that everything they sell is the best it can be. It will be an exceptionally busy time for many food businesses, and we’re providing extra support and advice to make sure they’re well prepared to meet the challenge.’

More information will be available on http//:www. food.gov.uk/olympicsand through a dedicated Twitter feed: @playitsafefood