Wokingham

Restaurants, cafes and take-aways across Wokingham district are being warned to make sure they clean their food preparation surfaces properly, after a recent survey by Wokingham District Council’s food safety officers found a high presence of bacteria.

With National Food Safety Week having drawn to a close (June 12 to 18), the results of samples taken from food premises across the South of England have been published, revealing that a number of premises aren’t following sufficient hygiene. Samples taken by council officers in the Wokingham district formed part of a wider survey across the region, with 22 authorities sending a total of 324 swab samples from chopping boards, food preparation surfaces, door handles, slicers and food containers, as well as dish cloths.

And the results showed that 44% of surfaces and 75% of dishcloths carried a high number of bacteria including:

* Escherichia coli – which indicates contamination with raw meat ingredients or direct faecal contamination
* Staphyloccus aureus – which indicates poor staff hygiene

Dish cloths were found to be a particular concern with some containing such high levels of food poisoning bacteria that they would be considered a significant health hazard.

Senior Wokingham food safety officer Joanne George said: “Cloths are often responsible for spreading bacteria around a kitchen. To stop this happening, they should be cleaned in hot soapy water (more than 60°C) and dried thoroughly every day. They should also be replaced regularly or disposable cloths can be used.”

Food businesses are being reminded to:

* Keep food at the correct temperature
* Ensure cloths are clean and replaced regularly
* Keep raw and cooked foods apart to prevent cross-contamination
* Wash hands thoroughly before and after touching food
* Keep kitchen surfaces clean.

Executive member for Wokingham community safety Cllr Barrie Patman said: “The results of this survey highlight just how important it is to maintain good kitchen hygiene, whether at home or work. People should make sure that all surfaces are cleaned thoroughly before preparing food and between handling raw and cooked food.”

Wokingham District Council