Making food safer

Consumers are being put at risk because the law is unclear on whether food businesses can use the same equipment for preparing raw and ready-to-eat foods. In 1996 in Scotland 21 people died and in 2005 in South Wales 5-year-old Mason Jones died from E.coli O157 infection because equipment was used for raw and cooked foods and was not cleaned properly.

As a result Consumer Focus Wales has been leading our campaign to make sure that businesses use separate equipment – especially complex, hard-to-clean machines such as vacuum packers, mincers and slicers – for raw and ready-to-eat foods, as this would avoid cross-contamination, reduce foodborne disease and save lives.

The Food Standards Agency is asking for people’s views on new draft guidance which will make it clear to food businesses that they must ensure separation of raw and ready-to-eat foods to the highest degree physically possible. Wherever you live in the UK it is really important that the Food Standards Agency hears your views on this issue. If you agree with us, please tell them to issue this guidance and back it up with clear warnings to businesses about what will happen if they fail to comply.

Please fill in the form to take part in this action (a Welsh version is also available)