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Unison calls for meat safety improvements

Food safety is a very important issue and many workers around the UK now take a food safety course online to help ensure they have the skills and knowledge required to handle food and drink appropriately. These training programmes are just as important as first aid training in Newcastle and elsewhere.

The issue of food hygiene was highlighted recently by UNISON. The organisation, which describes itself as the country’s largest union, has urged the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to make toxoplasmosis tests a routine part of meat inspection regimes.

Its call came after new figures revealed that the infection is affecting up to 1,000 people every day.

The infection can have damaging consequences for people of all ages, but it is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and unborn children.

According to UNISON, meat inspectors who work on production lines to ensure that meat is safe to eat could routinely check lamb carcasses for toxoplasmosis. It also called on the FSA to enhance its inspection regime for tackling faecal contamination in meat.

Ian Adderley, UNISON national officer for meat inspectors, said: “Meat inspectors work tirelessly day in day out to make sure the meat on our plates is safe to eat. They could be at the frontline of cutting the number of toxoplasmosis cases in the UK. But all too often, when they report problems to the FSA it fails to act.

“Faecal contamination in meat poses a real public health risk, and our members tell us that contaminated meat is regularly making its way into the food chain.”

He went on to note that UNISON wants the FSA to adopt more stringent enforcement practices.

To help ensure they remain on the right side of the law and to minimise the risk that they will make their customers ill, people involved in the handling and serving of food and drink can benefit from taking a food safety course online.

Of course, there are other personal development options open to them as well, including first aid training in Newcastle.

Sources:
http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=2803