HL Deb 24 June 1999 vol 602 cc107-8WA
Lord Stoddart of Swindon

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many times in the last 10 years the cause of a food poisoning outbreak has been attributed to the failure of a slaughterman to wash his hands prior to handling raw meat; and [HL3022]

How many times in the last 10 years the cause of a food poisoning outbreak has been attributed to the failure of a slaughterman to sterilise a knife; and [HL3O23]

How many times in the last 10 years the cause of a food poisoning outbreak has been attributed to the use by a slaughterman of a wooden chopping board; and [HL3024]

How many times in the last 10 years the cause of a food poisoning outbreak has been attributed to the use of galvanised meat hooks in a slaughterhouse. [HL3025]

Baroness Hayman

This information is not available. The Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) collects data on the number of food poisoning outbreaks, and if known, the vehicle of transmission. Data are collected on faults such as food handlers, inadequate heat treatment, inadequate storage and cross contamination which are reported as contributing factors to outbreaks. However, PHLS does not have access to data on processes within slaughterhouses which may be linked to outbreaks of food poisoning.