WIREDGOV

The future of food hygiene will come under the spotlight on Friday 3 December 2010 at a conference to be hosted jointly in London by the Food Standards Agency and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH).

‘Future Food Hygiene’ will examine hygiene delivery across the full length of the food chain, and delegates will be asked how systems for managing and enforcing food hygiene might be transformed to improve food safety and consumer protection.

Lord Young, whose report ‘Common Sense, Common Safety’ endorsed the Agency’s launch across England, Wales and Northern Ireland of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, will give the keynote speech. A similar scheme is already being rolled out by the Agency in Scotland. Lord Young’s report can be found at the link below.

Delegates will also hear from international speakers and national experts on how culture, behaviour and innovative practices influence standards of food hygiene.

With the inquest into the death of Mason Jones taking place during the week before the conference, delegates will be well aware of the importance of the issues under discussion. Mason died, aged five, from an E.coli O157 infection. He was one of the 157 people who fell ill during the outbreak in South Wales in 2005.

Delegates participating in the event will be contributing to both the Food Standards Agency’s and the CIEH’s future work on improving food safety. Attendance is free, but places are limited.

If you would like to find out more, to register your interest in attending, or to contribute to discussions on the future of food hygiene, further details are available on the conference website at the link below.