The hype that the modern food-poisoning microbe creates has led to a colossal new industry. Its scope is indicated by the move in Japan to incorporate anti-microbial chemicals into personal cheques so that unwanted germs don't enter a financial transaction. Meanwhile, US scientists are close to incorporating thermometers into meat to ensure consumers know when it is sufficiently cooked. Are these pertinent food safety precautions or symptoms of mass paranoia?
There is a view that sterilising the bad (and good) bugs out of existence has not helped people's ability to withstand foodborne infection. But that aside, instances of food poisoning are increasing in the Western world. In the Republic, the increase continues its sharp upward curve and is most marked at this time of year. Of 14 major Irish salmonella outbreaks in 1998, 12 occurred during the summer, with about 300 people infected, many of whom required hospitalisation.
The worst outbreaks are associated with food outlets - especially large catering establishments: hotels, restaurants and hospitals - yet incidence in the home is more pronounced than previously estimated. Food microbiologist Dr Ronnie Russell, of Trinity College, suggests the home accounts for some 50 per cent of cases, even if most of these are not reported.
In a sense, the food inspector could do well to cast an eye over the domestic kitchen, such is the extent of "temperature abuse" there. On the other hand, food poisoning may be the result of bad luck: an unfortunate consequence of putting responsibility for food safety in the hands of others.
Outbreaks (where larger groups become infected) usually relate to public events, Dr Russell explains. "There is the good day out: the visit to the restaurant, paid for handsomely, and at the end of it all, suffering. It's easy to understand the extent of upset. But at home, who are you going to blame?" His 50 per cent estimate is based on an evaluation of food complains investigated by his laboratory. Summer complicates matters. Its arrival coincides with a significant increase in samples to be tested; notably complaints about pre-packed foods, salads and coleslaws. There is more eating of these items; more of them being made and additional risk of something going wrong. But the loss of "cold weather protection" is often telling. The reality is that most foods are "pretty-well okay" when purchased but once subjected to "temperature abuse" or cross-contamination in the home, the risk of food poisoning rises. Conditions that allow proliferation of microbes are sometimes blindingly obvious: food is left for too long in the boot; the fridge is overloaded when there is a strong possibility anyway it may not be set at the right temperature (4s0]C or lower), and foods such as spreads, jams and mayonnaises (now made with few or no preservatives) are kept in cupboards rather than the fridge.
But precaution is difficult when few fridges have a temperature gauge or proper thermostat. Dr Russell believes there is a case for checking by using a standard thermometer or cheap stickers which change colour depending on temperature. Moreover, he claims high-risk food products such as egg products, frozen burgers, cooked meats and prepacked shellfish should have stickers on their packaging which changes colour if the temperature is raised above a certain level.
On summer barbecuing, Dr Russell says the usual advice about cooking beef until juices run clear may be meaningless, as meat may be sealed and charred on the outside. With thick burgers, there may little conduction of heat to the middle. He advises strict delineation: cook raw meat in a separate operation to, for example, preparing salads and bread. There is a case for microwaving burgers, he adds, before getting that barbecue flavour by turning them for at least a minute on each side over the coals.
Any emphasis on risky behaviour in the home should not be interpreted as letting food outlets off the hook, Dr Russell says. The weakest point in the food supply chain is refrigeration, in his opinion. Audits and inspections are repeatedly showing storage cabinets are not at the correct temperature - and in supermarkets low chests are often loaded to too high a level.
Dr Patrick Wall, chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), points to four common factors contributing to foodborne disease in the home. These include:
bringing contaminated food into the home
storing food inadequately
inadequate cooking
cross-contaminating germs from raw to ready-to-eat food through handling or via knives, chopping boards or other utensils.
The home may be responsible for most food poisoning, but the risk is not the same as when a large outbreak occurs. People at home generally prepare and eat food immediately - "there is less holding on to food," he says. Usually, food poisoning is confined within the one household. The big worry is E. coli 0157, because it can cause serious illness and even death in vulnerable groups, with a notoriously low "infectious dose" of a few cells, compared to thousands for salmonella.
Irish food-poisoning trends - especially a sharp increase in salmonella cases when they are dropping to the same extent in England and Wales - means that the FSAI is wary of the summer. The summer of 1998 sent reverberations throughout the catering sector, given the number of outlets, such as hotels, which lost weddings and conferences following bad publicity over cases which could be traced to inferior and cheaper eggs (mostly imported). But the picture is a complex one, added to, for example, by the thrust towards "ready-to-go" foods. The food service business now ranges from the convenience store, to the sandwich bar, to the filling station. That is ominous from a food safety perspective, especially when many food handlers are not adequately trained or supervised, though it is now required by law. Dr Wall believes the number of young, part-time staff - especially at weekends - preparing and selling this "food-on-thehoof" may be adding to the risk. Equally, many outlets see surges in business during the summer months. When kitchens are at their busiest, food safety deficiencies in the system appear.
Hygiene Day
This year's National Hygiene Day on June 15th focuses on the need to raise hygiene awareness in the home and workplace. Major supermarket groups will be supporting the day by advising their customers on how best to reduce food-poisoning risk.