How long can our luck last in relation to food safety? The most recent food scare has been serious, but not devastating. Despite a very pro-active and high profile stance by the Food Safety Authority on food hygiene, the country was visited again two weeks ago by yet another outbreak of food poisoning caused by salmonella and resulting in hospital treatment for a number of people. For a country that relies very heavily on the promotion of a clean and green image for its food products, this outbreak sends out the wrong message.
This is not the only incident, however, that is of concern. Figures published recently by the Department of Health and Children for 1999 and to which I referred in another debate in the House show that the number of reported cases of food borne illness is on the increase. Published figures do not include cases of campylobacter or e.coli 0157, neither of which is notifiable. It is also widely recognised that the total number of reported cases does not reflect the real number and that many incidents go unreported.
Figures made available for BSE for the months of January and February show an increase in the numbers of cases for each of these months. As with cases of food poisoning, the number of cases of BSE for 1999 was also up on previous years. Taken together, these notifications send signals to the regulatory authorities that all is not well with the controls that are in place for the management of food safety.
Food poisoning such as that caused by salmonella last week arises because contaminated food is allowed to travel through the food chain to the consumer without proper controls. It is a fact that raw food contains bacteria that may cause illness, but a number of barriers are available to prevent these bacteria reaching the consumer. When an outbreak occurs, it is clear that the barriers were not in place or are not working properly.
The education and training of personnel in the food industry is of the utmost importance. The high turnover of casual staff in the food industry often makes this difficult, but the consequences of inadequate hygiene training can be very serious. A number of smaller food companies do not employ technical personnel who are trained and competent to run a processing operation and who are informed about the need for correct sanitation programmes in the processing area. Auditing of hygiene practices within a factory may be non-existent or haphazard. A good auditing protocol would detect deficiencies in the processes.
The number of environmental health officers employed to monitor food operations is inadequate. All food operations – production, processing, catering and retail – should be inspected on a regular basis and should be allowed to continue in production only if they meet the required standards. Equally, a qualified technical person should be employed in all food processing operations. Without the necessary technical awareness and expertise, untrained personnel may not even recognise the existence of a particular hazard in a processing operation and this is a serious gap in many food processing industries.
We regularly remind ourselves in Ireland that we have the best quality and safest food. Unfortunately, we do not have the evidence to support this argument any more. Greater policing and enforcement measures are required if a major outbreak of a serious nature is to be avoided. We have been remarkably lucky to have escaped an outbreak of e.coli 0157, as occurred in Scotland two years ago. Salmonella belongs to the same family as e.coli 0157. They share many characteristics including their natural habitat, which is an animal source, and they share a similar heat resistance. If, therefore, an outbreak of food poisoning caused by salmonella can occur, there is no reason an outbreak of e.coli 0157 cannot also occur. However, a major difference relates to the greater virulence of e.coli 0157 and, therefore, the much more serious symptoms, as a result of this infection.
There is no room for congratulations or complacency as far as the safety of Irish food is concerned. There have been a number of narrow escapes. Illnesses that have occurred have been relatively mild by comparison with the worst case scenario that could have resulted form an outbreak from e.coli. Although the food industry may be damaged when an outbreak occurs, the real loser is the unfortunate consumer who becomes ill from the contaminated food. Stepping up the control systems, improved policing and reporting and substantial education and training programmes are essential if a major crisis is to be averted. The food industry, at almost every level, is inadequately policed. Training in many areas is non-existent or seriously inadequate. A co-ordinated, structured and effective action programme should be put in place with adequate resources to underpin it.
