More than £2.5m additional cash per year is needed to boost food safety standards and help environmental health services prevent another major E.coli catastrophe.
Consumer Focus Wales reviewed what actions have been taken in the year following the recommendations of Professor Hugh Pennington’s Public Inquiry on food safety, with a cash shortfall and lack of leadership major concerns.
It is estimated that £2.5m – £3m per year additional money is needed to carry out Pennington’s recommendations but the Welsh Assembly Government currently only allocates an extra £180,000 per year to local authorities.
The review also criticises the Assembly Government for not taking a stronger role on directing post-Pennington work, in order to ensure the best possible outcomes from the £2.3 million that the inquiry cost.
There are also calls for local authorities to prioritise spending on food hygiene in their annual budgets.
Maria Battle, Senior Director of Consumer Focus Wales, said: ‘We decided to do this review because consumers have a right to know whether Professor Pennington’s recommendations have been implemented in full and what has changed since the 2005 outbreak to increase food safety and prevent another major outbreak.
‘Much of the work undertaken by public authorities in response to the inquiry has been thorough, timely and appropriate. However, clearly more needs to be done.
‘We want the Welsh Assembly Government to provide ring-fenced money to local authorities so they have the resources to implement the recommendations. We know money is going to be scarce but it is crucial that environmental health services are properly funded to prevent another E.Coli outbreak.’
The Scottish Executive made an annual payment of £2.6 million for five years following recommendations by Professor Pennington, after a similar outbreak of E.coli O157 in 1996. It was earmarked for food hygiene, a move which enabled environmental health departments to build capacity to focus efforts on making the improvements recommended.
Professor Hugh Pennington said: ‘This authoritative review by Consumer Focus Wales shows that while much has been done, much remains to be done. The review is a powerful spur and stimulus to continued action.
‘One of the main themes is a lack of money. Finance for those who deliver food safety in businesses and for their regulators is tight. Increased pressures on budgets will continue. But the threat from E.coli O157 isn’t going to change. Prevention must remain paramount.’
Sharon Mills, who lost her 5-year-old son Mason in the 2005 outbreak in south Wales, said: ‘I believe the Welsh Assembly Government needs to ask itself if it has done all it can to protect its people. My five year old child lost his life and a number of other young children are still suffering in the aftermath of this outbreak. Some will need ongoing treatment and care for a long time.
‘Transparency is what we called for after the recommendations were announced and I think this report gives us some much awaited answers to some of the questions which the agencies involved have failed to answer since Professor Pennington’s report was published.
‘This report shows us that although some progress has been made, so much more is still yet to be done. That is why funding is so crucial.’
A further issue highlighted by the review relates to the separation of equipment for raw meat and ready-to-eat foods, which was the most likely cause of the 2005 outbreak and the 1996 Scottish outbreak.
The law is not clear on whether environmental health officers should be requiring food businesses to use separate machinery for raw meat and ready-to-eat foods. Different local authorities take different approaches to this issue.
The review calls for the Food Standards Agency to issue guidance making it clear that complex, hard-to-clean equipment should never be used for raw meat and ready-to-eat foods.
Notes to editors
This publication is a summary of actions to date, one year on from Professor Pennington’s inquiry report. It is based on information contributed by organisations including:
• The Welsh Assembly Government
• Food Standards Agency Wales
• Welsh Local Government Association
• Directors of Public Protection Wales
• Local Better Regulation Office
• Public Health Wales
• Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome Help
• Federation of Small Businesses
• Association of Independent Meat Suppliers
• National Federation of Meat and Food Traders
Consumer Focus Wales is the consumer champion for Wales. We tackle the issues that matter to consumers and aims to give people a stronger voice.
We don’t just draw attention to problems – we work with consumers and with a range of organisations to champion solutions that make a difference to consumers’ lives. We work with companies to ensure they put consumers first and challenge those who fail to do so.
