The road to food safety is harsh but worthwhile
A cold coming we had of it. So wrote the poet TS Eliot in his epiphanic masterpiece Journey of the Magi. He was writing about biblical kings but - appropriately for this time of year - he may have been describing the application of food safety standards in 1999 UK. Not wise men arriving with gifts, but magistrates descending with sticks. Some in this industry are experiencing "ways deep and weather sharp".
Take, for example, the former owners of a Somerset hotel who have been fined a near-record £19,000 for breaching food hygiene regulations (see page 6). That kind of penalty will send a shiver down the spine of any operator who has come under the watchful eye of local environmental health officers (EHOs). One slip and the penalty could be crippling.
But quite right. One slip could also lead to a case of severe, maybe fatal, food poisoning. A fine of £19,000 sounds like tough justice, but in the current environment the penalties for breaking the rules should be harsh.
Incidents of E coli and the threat of BSE have focused public and Government attention on food safety issues. That's why the Food Standards Agency has been formed and why local cases of salmonella and mouse-infested kitchens make the headlines.
The headlines and the stiffening approach of magistrates should not be taken as a suggestion that food safety problems are on the increase, however. Far from it. According to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the number of food safety-related prosecutions is declining. In 1994, for example, 1,020 hygiene cases were brought to court in the UK: by 1996 this figure had reduced to 572. Less than half of the cases involve restaurants and caterers; most include food retailers.
Prosecutions are very costly and there may be a reluctance by EHOs to take cases to court. But this reflects a growing trend for health regulation violators to be given a series of formal and informal warnings before action is taken. Which is why, when cases are brought to court, the penalties should be tough.
It's interesting to note that the clampdown on food safety matters in the UK has driven standards way above the levels found in other areas of the world, including parts of Europe and the USA. The USA is even turning to the UK for food hygiene advice (Caterer, 17 December, page 9). Some good is obviously coming from the harsh concern. Tough measures will continue to improve standards.
The journey, and such a long journey, may be difficult for some travellers, but what lies at the end must be seen as worthwhile. n
FORBES MUTCH
Editor Caterer & Hotelkeeper
