thought to originate from animals that were either ‘considerably diseased’ or that had died of pleuro- pneumonia, according to The Privy Council of the day.


Studies carried out in 1877 by the Local Government Board revealed that around a quarter of the milk on sale contained excessive chalk, while 10% of butter was tinted with copper. Gloucestershire cheese was routinely coloured with red lead while strychnine was often added to beer by unscrupulous tavern-keepers. This they did to enhance the bitter taste, allowing them to water down the beer without the customer noticing.


Conditions such as diptheria, scarlet fever, diarrhoea and enteric fever were all linked to the consumption of contaminated foods. One report highlights an ice cream product sold in Victorian London that was found to contain lice, bed bugs, fleas and human hair.


times and close attention should be paid to hand hygiene, particularly in commercial kitchens where food is being prepared for consumption by the public.


Unwashed or poorly washed hands are a factor in up to 40% of food-related illnesses according to the US Centre for Disease Control. Closer to home, a recent survey carried out by the Food Standards Agency found that over a third of catering staff did not wash their hands after visiting the lavatory at work.


Hands should be washed frequently – particularly after using the washroom or following any contact with the refuse bin. Handwashing should be a user-friendly process, particularly in commercial environments where staff could be at risk of skin conditions when washing their hands frequently. Mild soaps and soft towels will help to prevent the risk of dermatitis and similar ailments.


Dispensers should be designed to eliminate the problem of cross- contamination, and hand towels should be dispensed one at a time so that each user only comes into contact with the towel they use.


The way the hands are washed is also important. Particular attention should be paid to the backs of the hands and the areas between the thumbs and fingers. The washing process should take at least 30 seconds and should be followed by a thorough drying, since damp hands are an ideal breeding ground for bacteria.


Food poisoning incidents began to be logged in 1939 and new cases were reported year on year. By 1957 the estimated number of food infections occurring annually in England and Wales hit 15,100.


This figure is generally thought to have rocketed to around half a million today, and there are several reasons behind this apparent leap in the number of food poisoning cases. Greater public awareness means that many more people are consulting their doctors about gastric ailments than they used to.


Meanwhile, laboratory advances mean that micro- organisms can more easily be identified. And the fact that people are shopping less frequently and consuming more cook-chill dishes means that foods may be stored for too long or inadequately heated which could increase the risk of food poisoning.


So, can such outbreaks be avoided?


The microbes that cause food poisoning are usually controlled by processes such as freezing and heating. However, the same microbes can easily be spread around the kitchen via contaminated items such as chopping boards, cloths, utensils – and by our hands. Kitchen surfaces should therefore be kept thoroughly clean at all


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Of course, food poisoning cannot be eradicated by improvements


in hand hygiene alone. The principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) are vital in identifying critical control points in the food preparation process and establishing procedures to minimise risks.


Furthermore, some pathogens in food are airborne while others, more frighteningly, may be introduced deliberately into the food chain – though such cases are rare.


In 2002 a restaurant owner in China added chemicals to a competitor's food, killing dozens of people and causing hundreds more to be hospitalised. The following year, several people were arrested in London for plotting to add deadly ricin to the food supply on a British military base. Some might say we had come full circle since the days when additives such as lead, strychnine and copper were deliberately introduced into our foods.


But the key difference between then and now is that most of us have come to understand the importance of hygiene – and hand hygiene in particular – in the food and catering industries. If hand hygiene compliance were to be improved across the board, food poisoning cases could be reduced – and this would benefit us all.


www.tork.co.uk FOOD HYGIENE & STEAM CLEANING | 41


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