§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the main reasons for food poisoning outbreaks according to his departmental research; and how many of these relate to temperature control.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeWe do not hold figures centrally on the reasons for reported outbreaks of food poisoning.
Outbreaks of bacterial food poisoning and salmonella infection by location 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 11986 Private Homes 325 297 410 467 439 367 259 326 Restaurants/receptions 99 89 88 70 96 94 64 71 Hospitals 37 37 24 39 37 37 36 33 Institutions 20 17 11 28 25 13 19 19 Schools 13 10 9 9 5 7 8 8 Shops 12 5 17 5 15 10 5 4 Canteens 11 10 12 15 13 16 10 9 Farms 8 8 — 16 6 9 3 2 Infected abroad 7 5 — 4 7 14 9 12 Other 2 9 69 23 23 20 24 18 Unspecified 31 26 27 52 26 14 TOTAL 534 518 640 702 693 639 463 516 1 Provisional. Source:
PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre.
Note:
The data relates to the place where the outbreaks occurred; no information is held on where the food was prepared.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) salmonella, (b) campylobactor and (c) listeria outbreaks were reported in each year since 1979; and what estimate he has of the level of unreported outbreaks.
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe information requested is available until 1987 and is as follows.
Reports of outbreaks of salmonellosis, food and water borne campylobacter enteritis and listeriosis since 1979 Number of outbreaks Year Salmonellosis Food and water borne Campylobacter enteritis Listeriosis 1979 2455 3 — 1980 2439 3 — 1981 568 3 1 1982 612 3 — 1983 594 3 — 1984 540 24 — 1985 372 25 — 1986 269 15 — 1987 294 18 — Notes: 1 Reported to the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre. 2 Reports from PHLS and hospital laboratories only. 3 Information not available. I am unable to estimate the level of unreported outbreaks.
512WStudies on a number of food poisoning outbreaks reported between 1970 and 1982 showed that inadequate temperature control was the main factor contributing to the growth of food poisoning organisms in food, but the problem can arise at any stage form production to consumption.
§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of food poisoning outbreaks were attributed to(a) catering type establishments, (b) retail, (c) home and (d) others in the last 10 years.
§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkethe table shows the number of outbreaks of bacterial food poisoning and salmonella infection reported from 1979 to 1986 (the last year for which figures are currently available).