Food retail outlets must comply with the highest standards if the rising incidence of drug resistant salmonella in Ireland is to be contained, the chief executive of the Food Safety Authority warned yesterday.
Grocery retailers could play their part in reducing the disease's occurrence by stipulating to suppliers that all products must comply with the highest standards of food safety, Dr Patrick Wall told the annual convention of Spar shop owners in Killarney, Co Kerry.
"As retailers, your responsibility is to source food from approved suppliers, store it in proper conditions, ensure staff are trained to handle it correctly and adhere to use-by and sell-by dates," Dr Wall stipulated.
By selling food, they were in effect putting their reputation at risk if something went wrong. He warned the retailers not to risk their business by being unaware of the dangers and causes of food poisoning, and to ensure their food safety standards reached "the highest possible levels".
Part of the survival strategy for smaller retail chains in competing against large multiples, said Dr Wall, involved maintaining the same levels of food safety, hygiene and quality as the large multiple competitors.
"Selling food in a climate where people have been sensitised and concerned by a variety of food scares including salmonella, E.coli 0157 and most recently, dioxin, means retailers have to get food safety right and right first time," he told delegates.
"Ignorance or a lack of knowledge will be no excuse if a food-poisoning incident is linked to your retail outlet. You must therefore have full confidence in your suppliers and staff so that no illness will result from the consumption of your food by any member of the public."
Shop owners with expanding "ready-to-go food" products must also guarantee they complied with industry codes of practice and that staff were trained so no cross-contamination or inadequate refrigeration occurred.
Dr Wall said the prevention of food scares was based on common sense and good hygiene, with most outbreaks being caused by one of four factors:
grossly contaminated raw product
cross contamination from raw to cooked food
inadequate refrigeration
insufficient cooking
"Consumers are asking questions about the safety of food supply. The responsibility lies with retailers to address their concerns and provide safe food."