asked the Minister for Health if he received any report from inspectors on the hygiene and nutritional quality of food on sale in retail outlets, the form of these reports and if they disclose an improvement in recent years in food hygiene and quality.
Written Answers. - Food Hygiene and Quality.
343.
The reports from health inspectors on the hygiene and quality of foodstuffs are in the normal course submitted to health boards and not to my Department. Where, however, there might be a general risk to health, for example from a particular foodstuff, a report would be furnished to my Department.
As part of the food law enforcement programme of the health boards, samples of food taken from retail outlets are analysed by public analysts on a routine basis for contamination and adulteration, factors which would influence nutritional quality. Summaries of the results of these analyses are furnished to my Department each year by public analysts. These summaries show that only a small proportion of samples tested are found to be unsatisfactory.
In the course of the national hygiene campaign health boards were required to intensify their activities in the inspections of food premises and I am satisfied that this has resulted in a general improvement in standards of food hygiene and quality.