Food Safety News – February 2011
Poor Food Hygiene results in Prison Sentance
Mr Ramazan Aslan, the former food business operator of Llay Fish Bar in North Wales which was at the centre of an E. coli food poisoning outbreak in 2009 was given an eight month prison sentence after pleading guilty to food hygiene offences.
Victims of the food poisoning outbreak included a 3 year old girl who needed kidney dialysis, whilst another victim spent 3 months in hospital.
The offences included failing to protect cooked and ready-to-eat food from the risk of contamination during production, processing and distribution; inadequate pest control procedures and a failure to maintain a documented food safety management system.
He also failed to notify the council that he had become the food business operator at the fish bar.
There were no materials for the cleaning or hygienic drying of hands in the food preparation area, no hand drying materials in the staff WC, and the hand wash basin was not available for washing hands because it was used for storing clothes.
Good personal hygiene and avoiding cross contamination are key controls in reducing the risk from E. coli.
Complying with food hygiene legislation is not difficult, simple hygiene measures such keeping food preparation areas cleaned and sanitised, avoiding cross contamination, ensuring food is adequately cooked, and undertaking good personal hygiene can significantly reduce the risk of enforcement action from the local authority. If businesses are having trouble complying with the law they should seek professional advice from food hygiene experts.
Our consultancy support will help a food business of any size manage your controls and reove the risk posed by E.coli.
Please call us on 01727 866779 or email principals@hygieneauditsystems.com for more information
