Bah humbug
An article in The Sun yesterday: 'Tis the season to be jolly... ill' included tips on preparing and cooking your turkey from my microbiologist colleague Dr Judith Hilton.Bah humbug, I hear you cry (and...
View ArticleBird flu
I've been listening to radio interviews with my colleague Dr Judith Hilton, the Agency's head of microbiological safety, reassuring us that we can continue to eat poultry and egg products, despite...
View ArticleTesting meat for bird flu
The Agency's Board was very interested to get an update this morning on the bird flu outbreak in Suffolk and the subsequent investigations into how the outbreak occurred in the first place. In a report...
View ArticleListeriosis
Some of you may have seen that last week the Health Protection Agency reported an 80% increase in the number of UK cases of listeriosis, compared with 2006. Listeriosis is caused by the bacterium...
View ArticleFarm to Fork
My colleagues in the Enforcement and Communications divisions got together recently to look at some priorities for the coming year. One of the key audiences they identified was farmers and other...
View ArticleFoodborne disease evaluation
It's important that the Agency's initiatives are not only based on sound science and evidence, but also that we take the time to stop and evaluate what we have done and just how successful it has been...
View ArticleA partridge in a pear tree...
At this time of year we get to have some fun sending out some serious food safety messages wrapped up in a bit of festive cheer.This year a survey carried out by the Agency revealed that 80% of people...
View ArticleClean greens and bagged salads
Our work in the microbiology team involves the entire food chain, from how to protect crops in the field through to when it reaches your plates. The importance of this farm to fork approach becomes...
View ArticleBack to basics
Pathology is a bit of a Cinderella of the medical profession. If you were at a party and someone told you they were a pathologist, how would you imagine that they’d spent their working day?...
View ArticleNo air, no bugs… right?
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Even in the absence of air, some types of bacteria can grow on food –Clostridium botulinum is one of these. We know this nasty bacterium multiplies, without air,...
View ArticleCampylo–what?
The media spin about food that Andrew wrote about here earlier this week is one of the things I worry about as the Food Standards Agency’s Chief Executive – which is why I’ve grabbed the blog to add my...
View ArticleBags, bugs and basic food safety
It’s good to see a newspaper ‘debunking’ a media health scare for a change, as The Times did on Tuesday with ‘Bugs lurk in your bag for life’. Like many others, I try to do my bit for the environment...
View ArticleA goal without a plan is just a wish
Regular readers of this blog will now be familiar with the high priority we attach to reducing levels of campylobacter in chicken– the biggest cause of food poisoning in the UK. We know there are...
View ArticleFood poisoning is no yolk
The US is currently dealing with one of its biggest food recalls ever– with half a billion eggs from just two farms being recalled over fears they could be contaminated with the food poisoning bug...
View ArticleNew evidence on E. coli
There was an interesting development in the science around E. coli O157 reported last week. An article in the British Medical Journal showed that E. coli O157 infection can lead to an increased risk of...
View Article‘The co-pilot had fish. What did the navigator have?’
He’s not your typical advocate for food safety, but actor Leslie Nielsen, who died yesterday, did wonders for bringing the issue to people’s attention – Airplane! must be one of the only films in...
View ArticleIt’s just a gut feeling
I spotted another development in the science around E.coli O157 in the news last week. As part of an EU project, researchers have found that E.coli O157 has an advantage over other bacteria because it...
View ArticlePrions transmitted by aerosol
BSE is an emotive subject, so I was surprised that new research demonstrating the transmission of prions (the infectious agent that cause BSE) by aerosol, slipped out last week without furore.The...
View ArticleThe experts behind our advice
For those of you interested in the science behind our work on foodborne disease, I thoroughly recommend a read of the latest report of our Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety of Food at:...
View ArticleThe big chill
A recent edition of New Scientist raised an interesting question about whether bacteria can live or even thrive at very low temperatures, particularly bacteria that can live inside a refrigerator. With...
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