§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health, following the advice from his chief medical officer that all cook-chill food should be re-heated until piping hot before consumption, what action he is taking about those supermarkets which continue to retail cook-chill chicken labelled "ready to eat".
§ Mr. Kenneth ClarkeThe chief medical officer's advice that cooked chilled meals and ready to eat poultry should be re-heated until they were piping hot was directed at pregnant women and certain others at special risk. As far as the rest of the population was concerned, he said that provided good hygiene practices were followed there was no need for them to change the types of foods that they regularly ate and enjoyed.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his policy towards the acceptance by health authorities of commercial sponsorship of the publication of newsheets relating to cook-chill catering.
§ Mr. FreemanIt is a matter for health authorities to determine their use of commercial sponsorship in the publication of any news sheets that they wish to issue provided they do not contravene current health policy.
Food Salmonella SP Clostridium Perfringens Staphylococcus Aureus Bacillus SP Total Fish 2 — — — 2 Meat 8 24 1 2 35 Vegetables — — — — — Eggs 6 — 1 — 7 Other foods Chicken 24 5 2 2 33 Turkey 15 4 1 1 21 Poultry 2 1 — — 3 Other mixed foods 14 5 7 15 41 Information is not readily available on all cases involved in these outbreaks. Provisional information on outbreaks associated with these foods in 1988 suggests that, with the exception of eggs, there was no significant
424W
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will direct Wakefield health authority to ensure that future editions of "Catering Update" relating to cook-chill catering are produced without commercial sponsorship by companies closely associated with the introduction of such catering.
§ Mr. FreemanNo. Editorial control of such publications rests with the DHA.