Food Hygiene Legislation

Food Hygiene Legislation 1. Summary Even though it is the responsibility of everyone to ensure that food substances are handled hygienically, research has revealed that a large number of people do not observe food safety regulations thereby putting their health as well as that of others at risk. The government, however, has recognized this problem and as a result has taken it as one of its main responsibilities to make sure that the people are provided with high quality foodstuffs that are free from contamination. The government has charged the responsibility of ensuring that health regulation and other food policies are implemented at the grassroots. Law makers in addition have instituted regulations that should be followed by all proprietors of food substances.

Downtown City Council has created a Food Safety Division whose main obligation is to carry out inspections to make sure that food safety regulations are followed to the letter.

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This paper presents a report analyzing some of the public health regulations through the responsibilities of Environmental Health Practitioners (EHP) during a regular site visit. The principal aim of carrying out this inspection was to find out whether there were circumstances where food safety regulations had been contravened. The paper will first highlight the role of the EHP in ensuring that public health policies and regulations are followed strictly. A site report of hygiene food inspection carried in Downtown City by EHP, focusing on infringements of existing food hygiene regulation will then be presented. Recommendations that can act as effective solutions to these contraventions will then be highlighted.

2. Role of an Environmental Health Practitioner Environmental Health Practitioners are considered some of the most essential officers as far as prevention of situations that can negatively impact on the health of the people is concerned. EHPs are highly knowledgeable people, who sufficiently understand all the procedures of public health. Most of the activities carried out by environmental health practitioners go a long way in ensuring that the safety, as well as the health of the people is guaranteed (Miller, 2006). Some of the issues that an environmental health practitioner deals with include: Protection of the environment from possible pollution, food safety, the health of the people, housing standards, management of waste, and safety at the work place in addition to all environmental issues in a certain area. One of the main duties allocated to an environmental health practitioner is inspection of the health and safety standards of businesses, including restaurants, food cafes and eateries, which deal with food substances. Other duties include: Inspection of food standards and food hygiene along with investigating and looking into complaints associated with food poisoning, as well as outbreak of pests and infectious diseases (Yassi, 2001). To ensure that they are not exposed to numerous hurdles during their day to day

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activities, the government has bestowed some powers on environmental health practitioners.

They, for instance, have the power to enforce environmental health laws, collect food samples for purposes of carrying out laboratory tests, and conduct investigations for accidents that occur at the place of work among others. During visits business owners are required to cooperate by answering questions, guiding the EHP through the premises as well as producing all the relevant documentations that an EHP may require. The EHP can order a certain process that was in progress to be stopped until the relevant hygienic standards are met.

Environmental health officers have the right to enter, without prior notice, all premises where activities that can directly impact on the health of the people are carried out and conduct inspections (Yassi, 2001). These officers also have the power to take law enforcement actions to safeguard the public if they identify problems during inspection. In addition to taking samples for further testing, environmental health officers can take photographs of food and storage places in addition to conducting inspection on business records. The EHP can also order for the removal of all machineries and equipments that do not meet public health standards. The EHP is free to decide the level of intervention to take and this is dependent on the situation. The EHP has the right to serve food business operators, who are breaking the law, with hygiene improvement notices. Failure to act according to the notice is an offense that can lead to prosecution. An environmental health practitioner can seize food substances that are suspected to be contaminated and recommend prosecution in serious cases (Yassi, 2001).

3. Report During inspection at Downtown, there were a number of issues identified that clearly indicated that public health safety regulations had been contravened. Photographs, provided at the appendices section of this report, were taken as proof of these contraventions.

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3.1 Photograph References 1 and 4 The dirty equipments used in processing of food act as reservoir for microorganisms most of which have the capacity to cause disease. Pathogenic microorganisms such as Staphylococcus and Campylobacter are usually transferred to food substances if preparation is done on dirty surfaces (Unicomb, 2009). Food processing floors were covered with old pieces of paper that could easily absorb moisture and encourage growth of pathogenic microbes. Papers can also spread fire to the entire premises easily thereby exposing workers to extreme mechanical dangers.

3.2 Photograph References 2, 3 and 6 The animal excreta on the floor do not only pose a great health risk to the workers, but it also risks the health of eventual food consumers. Failure to remove the droppings on the floor increases the possibility of contaminations being transported to other areas in the premises.

Droppings are believed to harbour pathogenic microorganisms such as Salmonella and Campylobacter species (Food Standards Agency, 2012). Presence of faecal matter as well as microorganisms in food substances is a direct contravention of the HACCP principles.

3.3 Photograph Reference 5 The other aspect that was found to have contravened the public health regulations was the presence of dead rodents in the premises. Rodents, whether dead or alive are a huge health risk to the people. Some rodents are believed to harbour microbes can lead to the spread of diseases such as Leptospirosis, Salmonellosis, haemorrhagic fevers and Tularaemia to human beings.

4. 0 Recommendations It is recommended that the business be issued with a prohibition notice and the practicing licence of the business be suspended until all the following recommendations are implemented.

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4.1 A thorough cleaning of the dirty equipment should be carried out.

All dirty as well as faulty equipments should be removed a cleaned with disinfectants such as chlorine. Based on the fact that faulty equipments may fail to prepare food to the expected standards, they should be replaced.

4.2 The covering material on the floor should be removed and replaced Flammable materials including paper should never be made use of as a covering material on the floor. Instead non-slippery material that is easy to clean and maintain should be used.

4.3 Disinfection of the entire premises should be undertaken The dead rodents together with the animal excreta should be removed and the entire premises cleaned thoroughly with disinfectants. The dead rodents should be disposed off as per the requirements of the Downtown City Council. Extensive decontaminant measures should also be carried out since they have the capacity to minimise chances of growth and spread of pathogenic microbes such as Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, Salmonella in addition to other related species (Iowa State University, 2012). Contaminated food substances should also me removed from the premises.

Even though a large percentage of food proprietors around Downtown City do not observe food safety regulations, there are a variety of interventions that can be carried out to ensure that the health of the people is safeguarded. One of the most important interventions is to conduct training sessions that will enlighten food dealers of the important of handling foodstuffs in accordance with the laid down food safety regulations. Training sessions have been shown to possess the potential to increase the people’s perception towards certain ideologies. These sessions can also increase the people’s knowledge on the importance of hygienic handling of food. Ensuring that the local people are made aware of the dangers behind improper storage of

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food is one of the most appropriate intervention strategies for reducing health risks to the people (Lues et al., 2006). All people should be encouraged to use food preservation techniques that are highly effective such as freezing, boiling, salting, oxidation and drying. Pasteurization and freezing are the most common food preservation techniques used in industries. It is also through these sessions that food proprietors can be made aware of the penalties associated with failure to act in accordance with the laid down food safety regulations.

4. Conclusion It can therefore be concluded that even though it is the responsibility of everyone to ensure that food substances are handled hygienically, a large number of people in Downtown City do not observe food safety regulations thereby putting their health as well as the health of others at risk. It is the responsibility of the government to make and implement laws to guarantee the health safety of the public. The EHPs, who are legislatively empowered to carry out public health inspections, work in collaboration with other stakeholders in the health industry to make sure health regulation policies and laws are effectively implemented. During inspections, owners of businesses that deal directly with food products are legally required to cooperate to mitigate legal action. For that reason, the role of the environmental health practitioner is an imperative one in the public health sector, since it serves to safeguard the public against poor hygienic practices by food dealers.

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Food Standards Agency. (2012). General food law. Retrieved on July 30, 2012 from http://www.food.gov.uk/enforcement/regulation/foodlaw/ Iowa State University, (2012). Common foodborne pathogens. Retrieved on July 30, 2012 from http://www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety/pathogens/index.cfm Lues, J., Rasephei, M., Venter, P., & Theron, M. (2006). Assessing food safety and associated food handling practices in street food vending. International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 16(5), 319-328.

Miller, M. (2006). The role of environmental health practitioners in a public health emergency.

Journal of Environmental Health, 69(1), 36-37.

Unicomb, L. (2009). Food safety: pathogen transmission routes, hygiene practices and prevention. Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition, 27(5), 599-601.

Yassi, A. (2001). Basic environmental health. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

FOOD HYGIENE LEGISLATION Appendix: Photograph References from the Inspection Site Reference 1: Photograph showing unsuitable floor covering and dirty equipment

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FOOD HYGIENE LEGISLATION Reference 2: Photograph showing droppings on floor

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Reference 3: Photograph showing droppings on food packaging

Reference 4: Photograph showing dirty equipment.

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Reference 5: Photograph showing dead rodents under shelves.

Reference 6: Photograph showing droppings on plates

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