New action to raise Olympic standards

02-Oct-2011 - Last updated on 07-Oct-2011 at 13:36 GMT

Related tags Fsa board Food safety Bacteria Escherichia coli

Any food business that fails to rectify hygiene deficiencies in its operations will, from next April, risk being served with a Remedial Action Notice (RAN), potentially forcing it to stop working until improvements are made.

The timescale is designed to allow a "bedding-in" period for the new regulations before the Olympic Games begin in London on July 27. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says the change will provide an important tool for tackling poor hygiene associated with an expected surge of temporary, and in many cases mobile, catering enterprises associated with the Olympics.

Last month the FSA Board agreed to the extension of RANs from high-risk premises that handle products of animal origin, such as slaughter houses, cutting plants and fishery product plants, to all food establishments. It also agreed to compensate firms that were "inappropriately" served with RANs.

In practice, it means premises served with a RAN could be forced to suspend operations or close all, or part, of their business for specified periods of time.

The move by the FSA Board was in response to recommendations of the Public Inquiry into the outbreak of E.coli O157 in Wales in 2005, which tragically claimed the life of a five-year-old boy and severe health problems for many others. It is in line with the FSA's goal of reducing the incidents of foodborne illness in the UK and was considered necessary to close a gap in current enforcement powers.

Estimates for 2007 indicate that 1,044,000 consumers in the UK contracted a foodborne disease, and 500 died as a result. A 1% reduction would mean around 10,440 fewer cases, said the FSA.

Examples of where a RAN might be used include situations where: inadequate cook or chill temperature control causes the growth of pathogenic bacteria; cleaning issues risk cross-contamination of food and require immediate attention; lack of hot water supply risks cross-contamination; pest infestation and drainage defects create an unhygienic environment.

The decision was made by the FSA Board following a consultation with stakeholders. While the proposed changes were warmly welcomed by consumer groups, some concerns were expressed by industry particularly around the misuse of RANs.

For example, the Food and Drink Federation, Chilled Foods Association, Association of Convenience Stores, British Retail Consortium and ASDA raised the issue of what happened when an authorised officer was unavailable to lift a RAN once it had been complied with. They argued that this would incur unacceptable costs for the businesses concerned. The FSA responded that the compensation clause should address this concern.

In 2008/09, local authorities issued 17 RANs. In establishments for which the FSA is responsible, 34 were issued.