Council's butchers' inspections 'deficient'

Feb 28 2008 Media Wales

A FOOD watchdog found “deficiencies” in the way Bridgend council checked butchers’ premises.

But it failed to find out just how effective the inspections carried out by the council’s environmental health officers were, the E.coli public inquiry has heard.

On the 10th day of the inquiry it was also revealed that E.coli butcher John Tudor & Son had been investigated as the possible source of a Salmonella outbreak.

Jane Davies, assistant director and head of enforcement at the Food Standards Agency, told the inquiry the body undertook a routine audit of Bridgend’s environmental health department in February 2004.

It found that crucial guidelines governing how inspections should be carried out were not in place.

All that existed was a draft document that had been put together in the months before the audit.

Mrs Davies said “there was concern” about this but, following a period of uncertainty within Bridgend’s environmental health department after two members of staff left, “things were being addressed, albeit slowly”.

Mrs Davies also told the inquiry there were “deficiencies” in documented procedures at Bridgend council. In particular, the agency found no evidence environmental health officers were properly checking butchers’ health and safety records.

But, during individual interviews, the Food Standards Agency did not press Bridgend council’s environmental health officers over the issue regarding HACCP records.

The inquiry has already heard how Bridgend’s environmental health officers did not know Tudor falsified crucial records and lied about receiving food hygiene awards because they did not check his HACCP plan.

But agency officials did not ask Bridgend’s environmental health officers how they checked the effectiveness of butchers’ HACCP plans and even failed to ask officers basic questions such as how they would carry out food hygiene inspections.

The inquiry also heard how Bridgend council failed to mention in a pre-visit questionnaire the Food Standards Agency asked it to fill in before the audit that there had been an outbreak of salmonella in 2003.

That came to light during the audit and the inquiry heard how John Tudor & Son had been investigated as a possible source because it had supplied turkey to Bridgend’s Meals on Wheels service. Four out of the five people who contracted Salmonella received Meals on Wheels.

But the inquiry heard a report concluded Tudor’s turkey was unlikely to have been the source of the outbreak.