Primary schools need to clean up their act for food hygiene

Environmental health officers conducting inspections of nursery and primary schools have found unacceptable food hygiene standards at a number of establishments in recent months.

A primary school in Burnley was the latest to hit the headlines after it was slapped with a poor score of just one out of five stars in the new Food Standards Agency ratings initiative. The low rating means that major improvements are needed at Whittlefield Primary, in Tabor Street, which was rated in the bottom 3% of schools in Burnley.

The disappointing result comes after news in April that ten primary schools in Stirlingshire have failed food hygiene checks in the past year while 24 schools and colleges in Wales have been rated as two or below since the rating scheme started in October 2010.

The Food Standards Agency ratings scheme lists restaurants, cafes and all other food outlets and food hygiene inspections are carried out at schools, nursing homes and hospitals. A rating of 0, 1 or 2 means that there are serious concerns with hygiene standards and improvements are required. It also means that the establishment is currently failing to comply with food hygiene law.

Back in April, a spokesperson for Stirling Council said: “The criteria for this has not changed since 2006 so all businesses should be aware of what is expected of them.”

A senior Councillor for Burnley also said that school hygiene should be “the highest priority” and added: “I would expect urgent improvements to now be made.”

Representatives of the primary school say that immediate cleanliness problems had been addressed while refurbishment of the kitchen had already been planned for this summer.

Food hygiene issues in schools hit the headlines again just as the national campaign, Food Safety Week, began on 6th June 2011. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of good food hygiene practices, in particular processes related to cleanliness, cooking, chilling and cross-contamination.

First Response Training can provide a number of food hygiene training courses, from basic Food Hygiene Awareness to Level 2 Food Hygiene. This full day course can be available as the CIEH-accredited Level 2 in Food Safety in Catering. First Response are also starting to offer intermediate food hygiene courses, such as the CIEH Level 3 in Food Safety in Catering which is a comprehensive 3 day training course.

Perry Leeks, Managing Director at First Response, says: “It is important that all those who handle, store, prepare and serve food and beverages understand the principles of effective food hygiene control. This is critical to prevent bacteriological and physical contamination of food.

“This is really important in an environment such as a school where hundreds of people may be served the food and exposed to any hazards it contains. Vulnerable children and young adults can be very seriously affected by a bout of food poisoning and this can affect attendance and their overall development. Schools need to ensure that their catering staff are properly trained in all aspects of food hygiene in order to protect pupils.”