A year-long investigation into safe handling of meat in butchers' shops and supermarket meat counters, has found the level of safe compliance had almost doubled.
The Food Safety Authority (FSA) had targeted ready-to-eat food and raw meat outlets for study due to the potential for cross-contamination and ultimately the spread of E.coli 0157 and other bacteria.
The report compared the findings of a baseline assessment of HACCP - hazard analysis critical control point - compliance levels in 961 butcher shops and supermarket meat counters in 2004, to the findings of the final assessment of 862 premises undertaken in 2005.
HACCP was a programme developed for the US space industry to ensure astronauts did not get food poisoning on space missions. It involves assessing the various stages of food preparation where hazards might occur, controlling these critical hazard points and verifying them.
The FSA study looked at the various premises where there was no evidence of compliance, those who had begun compliance and those who were compliant.
A comparison of the baseline and final assessment results revealed that the number of premises reported to be compliant in the final assessment were almost double that in the baseline assessment for each of the three HACCP elements.
"Comparing these three elements across both assessments, the greatest increase in premises classified as compliant was observed in the hazard analysis element increasing from 25 per cent to 48 per cent, followed by controlling CCPs increasing from 28 per cent to 48 per cent with the smallest increase in verification rising from 19 per cent to 36 per cent," said the report.
Dr Wayne Anderson, the authority's chief specialist in food science, said the report's findings were an encouraging sign that HACCP and the management of food safety was top of the agenda for butcher shops and supermarket meat counters.
The 14-month information campaign undertaken by the Food Safety Authority as part of the national HACCP strategy involved enhanced visits and support for butcher shops and supermarket meat counters by environmental health officers.