Don’t use same equipment on raw and ready-to-eat food – it’s too hard to clean

Abby Alford of the Western Mail reports that the mother of a five-year-old boy who died following an outbreak of E. coli has said new food safety guidelines could mean his death was not in vain.

Mason Jones (right), from Deri, near Bargoed, Caerphilly, died in the worst E.coli O157 food poisoning outbreak to hit Wales five years ago.

Now guidelines which could compel food businesses to use separate machinery to process raw and cooked meat are being seriously considered by food safety officials as a result of the outbreak, which began after contaminated meat was distributed to 44 South Wales Valleys school.

The move by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) comes after it was revealed some firms continue to use the same equipment for both types of meat, risking public health.

The FSA said the new guidelines will go out to public consultation by the summer.

What public consultation is needed? Don’t cross-contaminate. It kills people.

Complex, hard-to-clean equipment should never be used for raw meat and ready-to-eat foods.
 

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time