Written Answers. - Food Safety Authority.
Ulick Burke
Question:
210
Mr. U. Burke
asked the
Minister for Health and Children
the plans, if any, he has to deal with the increase of up to 1,666 in reported cases of food poisoning in 1999; his views on whether the Food Safety Authority has the capacity to deal with these numbers; if the reported source of many of the outbreaks has been correctly linked with imported Northern Ireland eggs; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6221/00]
The figures quoted by the Deputy refer specifically to the increase in food poisoning, defined as bacterial other than salmonella.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland – FSAI – which has been in existence on a non-statutory basis since 1997, was formally established by the Government in January 1999. This honours the commitment contained in the Government's An Action Programme for the Millennium that an independent, science based statutory agency with responsibility for food safety be set up. In July last year, the FSAI took over responsibility for the enforcement of all food safety legislation which had prior to that date been the responsibility of a range of State agencies. The primary function of the FSAI is to ensure that food produced or marketed in Ireland meets the highest standards of food safety and hygiene. The authority also has a statutory function to foster at all stages of food production from primary production through to final use by the consumer, the establishment and maintenance of high standards of food hygiene and safety.
The FSAI has a number of initiatives under way that are aimed at protecting public health and reducing the incidence of food borne illness and these include a campaign aimed at raising standards of food safety and hygiene practices among people working in the fast food sector. A breakdown of data from 1999 shows that over 50% of the reported outbreaks were associated with the catering sector of the food industry, most notably the fast food sector which includes takeaway restaurants. The FSAI has produced a guide for takeaway premises because of the relatively high risk associated with ready-to-go meals. Changing lifestyles have increased the demand for fast food, with the emphasis now on speed and convenience. This trend is reflected elsewhere in the world in that 56% of money spent on food in the United States goes to purchase foods eaten or prepared outside the home and this trend is also happening in Ireland.
The "food to go" sector is enjoying a rapid growth; retailers are responding to changes in lifestyles by providing ready-to-eat meals and by expanding the range of convenience foods they supply. Some staff working in this area are untrained and inexperienced in food hygiene practices. In many such premises, there can be a rapid turnover of staff which can result in poor hygiene standards and lack of knowledge of good hygienic practices. It is imperative that employees know what causes food poisoning and what they must do to prevent it. The responsibility for good food hygiene practices rests firmly on the owners of these food businesses.
Another major initiative relates to the catering sector and the use of egg. Eggs have been associated with outbreaks of salmonella food poisoning. The salmonella strain primarily associated with poultry is salmonella enteritidis. There has been an aggressive salmonella control programme in table egg laying flocks in the Republic of Ireland for a lenghty period and I am advised by the FSAI that our flocks are virtually salmonella free. The flocks are monitored by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, and flocks found to be positive with salmonella enteritidis are slaughtered.
In 1998 there were three outbreaks of salmonella enteritidis all linked to eggs traced back to a Northern Ireland source. These outbreaks resulted in 88 people becoming ill, three of whom were hospitalised. In 1999 there were seven outbreaks of salmonella enteritidis in the Republic of Ireland, four of which were associated with eggs from a Northern Ireland source. The specific food contributing to the other three outbreaks was not established.
According to the FSAI, all eggs are safe once cooked and the FSAI has issued advice to commercial catering companies, hospitals and other institutions about the risks associated with raw egg dishes such as tiramisu, baked Alaska, mayonnaise and hollandaise sauce.
The FSAI has collaborated with the Egg Association and Bord Bia in developing a quality assurance scheme that incorporates strict disease control and monitoring measures in flocks. Each individual egg is marked with the flock of origin and these flocks are all salmonella enteritidis free. The authority now recommends that caterers should use either pasteurised eggs or eggs sourced from proven salmonella controlled flocks such as those in the Bord Bia egg quality assurance scheme. In this context, there has been a reduction in the number of reported cases of food poisoning caused by salmonella nationally from 1,258 in 1998 to 956 in 1999. A combination of the availability of salmonella enteritidis free eggs from this quality assurance scheme and advice to all sectors of the industry about the risks associated with raw egg dishes where the source is not known should reduce the number of egg associated outbreaks of salmonella enteritidis.
The FSAI has also had major initiatives focused at the control and prevention of e.coli 0157 in the food chain. This has involved working closely with the food sector in developing codes of best practice for reducing contamination of meat products during processing and the safety labelling of minced beef products with consumer instructions for the preparation and cooking of these foods. There was also a reduction in the reported incidence of e.coli 0157 infection from 76 in 1998 to 51 in 1999.
The FSAI has developed guidance notes to standardise the investigation of outbreaks and, while each health board co-ordinates the notification of outbreaks, members from other food agencies are called in to assist with tracing contaminated products back through the food chain. In addition, the FSAI has initiated a training programme on outbreak investigations and simulated outbreak exercises are used to develop expertise and team work in this area. They have also developed a surveillance system to collect details on all outbreaks that occur to ensure that lessons are learnt from the outbreaks. The system collects details on the germs involved, the implicated foods and the faulty hygiene practices that may have contributed to the outbreak, and the types of premises involved.
The FSAI is now co-ordinating the work of the enforcement officers in the official agencies to ensure there are no gaps in the continuum of food safety controls from the farm to the point of sale. Over 1,800 people in the various front line agencies are working under contract to the FSAI as part of a multidisciplinary team to ensure food legislation is complied with and problems can be traced back through the food chain and appropriate corrective action taken.
The Deputy will agree that the FSAI not only has the capacity to tackle the problem of food poisoning but is actively involved in a number of initiatives which should help to minimise outbreaks in the future.
The Deputy will be aware that an outbreak of salmonella typhimurium DT104 has occurred within the past number of days in the North-Eastern Health Board region.
There have been 34 confirmed cases, and ten people have been hospitalised to date. The North Eastern Health Board is co-ordinating an intensive investigation into the outbreak in conjunction with the FSAI and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. A product recall of affected product was immediately arranged and is now complete. The North Eastern Health Board and the FSAI made available helplines to provide consumers and retailers with advice on control measures to be adopted.
