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Fryers and Fast Food - July - August 2006
With World Cup fever barely subsiding it is not only
football fans who may have some unwelcome after-effects of
joining in the spirit of the World Cup.
For even those with little or no interest in soccer may well
have been caught in the unwelcome backlash… of a food
poisoning epidemic.
Over 79,283 cases of food poisoning were reported in 2005
alone with 5,825 of those being in the North West –
and experts at Shieldyourself, the UK’s leading Health
and Safety and Food Safety consultancy, are predicting that
these figures could increase by up to 30-40 per cent as a
result of the World Cup.
The World Cup has been an undoubted boost for the fast food
sector, but operators should now ponder; has their position
been made vulnerable because staff have consumed alcohol while
watching the football before turning up for work.
Mark Flanagan, Director of Shieldyourself, comments: “There
is a huge temptation for those who are working either prior,
during or following a match to have a ‘quick pint’
and enjoy the game and the atmosphere while they can. However,
consuming any alcohol while being involved in the preparation
of food completely contravenes all health and safety legislation,
relating to food preparation. Not only could they potentially
be a danger to themselves, but hygiene levels are likely to
be impaired, as is their judgement on when the food is ready
to be served. Employers must ensure that there is a zero tolerance
policy on anybody found to be under the influence of alcohol,
or face the consequences when they are prosecuted as a result
of a food poisoning outbreak”.
The potential risk of drunken and incompetent staff, being
coupled with the fact that food poisoning cases generally
increase over the summer due to warmer weather causing harmful
food bugs to multiply, could be a lethal combination, meaning
that health standards and hygiene levels need to be kept to
an optimum level.
Flanagan continues: “Landlords, take away owners, restaurateurs
and caterers alike are now being urged to ensure that their
products are not putting the lives of the general public at
risk. On average over 600 people unnecessarily die in the
UK as a result of food poisoning, the majority of which could
have easily been avoided if basic health and safety and food
safety legislation had been followed”.
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