Catering firms told to clean up their act

A number of premises failed recent spot checks by Environmental Health Officers

WEST Berkshire Council has told catering firms to clean up their act after a recent inspection showed that almost 80 per cent of chopping boards tested showed unsatisfactory levels of bacteria.

Environmental Health Officers conducted spot checks at 18 premises, including nine in West Berkshire and others in Reading, Windsor, Maidenhead and Wokingham, between January and March this year.

From these premises, including restaurants, cafes and takeaways, 63 samples were taken from chopping boards, work surfaces, serving tongs, vacuum packers and meat slicers, of which 45 percent were found to be unsatisfactory.

More worryingly, of the 15 chopping boards that failed the tests, 12 of them appeared to be clean.

West Berkshire Executive Councillor for Public Protection, Hilary Cole, said: “These results are a serious warning to catering businesses. The fact is that you cannot tell if something is hygienically clean just by looking at it. This is why it is so important to properly disinfect all equipment that comes into contact with food.

“We will continue to monitor the cleaning standards of catering businesses and take action as required.”

West Berkshire Council will not name and shame the establishments but re-inspections will take place at every premises that had failed samples in West Berkshire.

West Berkshire Council spokesman, Phil Spray, said members of the public can check recent inspections online.

“Customers should not be overly worried about these results,” he said. “Where sampling has indicated that premises were not cleaning their equipment or surfaces properly, there is an increased risk of food poisoning; however, the results indicated bacteria associated with poor cleaning rather than contamination with harmful types of bacteria.

“Where customers are concerned about the standards of hygiene in restaurants, cafes etc, we suggest that they visit our Scores on the Doors site to check the results of a business' last food hygiene inspection. [Click on the link below].”

Paul Anstey, Environmental Health and Licensing Manager, added: “In the vast majority of cases the businesses we tested were simply not getting their cleaning right. Chopping boards had the poorest results so businesses must ensure they are frequently cleaned, disinfected, and replaced when they become worn.”