Camillus Glynn (Fianna Fail)

It is a well known saying that we are what we eat and it is important consequently that we know what we are eating. The recent scare pertaining to Sudan Red 1 dye in food is particularly worrying given its status as a carcinogen. One can describe the production activities of using artificial colourants, fertilisers and so forth as greed. The producer wants to make more money faster. Angel dust fed to livestock is an example but only a small number of farming entities have been known to indulge in this practice, thankfully. As a strong supporter of the farming community I congratulate the IFA and other farming organisations for the policing of their industry. The overuse of artificial fertiliser is not good because we are what we eat. The overuse of artificial fertiliser in vegetables is reflected in the completed product. Organically produced food is a much better source of healthy food than its artificially produced counterpart.

Reference was made to meat relabelling. Meat products are supposed to be labelled to identify their country of origin but this must be taken further. To ensure that the products can be sourced and that they are locally produced, vegetables and meat, be it beef, mutton, pork or so forth, should display the name of the farmer or butcher from whom they were purchased. This is not too much to ask. It will not be long before someone whose name is incorrectly used in a poor product will take steps to set things right.

Eating is essential for human existence. Much has been said about the introduction of the smoking ban and the implications for health of environmental tobacco smoke. It is imperative that the substances we ingest are of the highest possible quality. It is true to say that ours is a primarily agricultural economy, even though the number of farming units is in decline for many unfortunate reasons. Senator Coonan is correct in that we are on the periphery of the biggest market in the world and we should make the optimum use of our attributes.

Change in consumer demands have pushed the drive for improvement in food safety. Living standards are increasing and people travel and experience both good and bad standards in food hygiene. Education standards have risen and consumers are more aware of their rights and the standards expected of food premises. The seasonal nature of employment in the food industry adds significantly to the costs of employee-food handling training. All workers in the food industry must be trained to a level commensurate with their duties. Managers and trainers must first gain the experience themselves if they are to train employees.

Training is available from the former health boards and now from the Health Service Executive through environmental health officers and health inspectors. Local employment training schemes owe much to the flexible nature of course management through private consultant trainers. Food safety management systems based on the hazard analysis and critical control point must be implemented on all food premises. The design and implementation of this approach in the food business is costly and takes much time, but it is worth doing if it makes the preparation of food and the finished product safe. Environmental health officers should make unscheduled inspections of all food producing premises to ensure optimum standards are observed.

Hazard analysis and critical control point is a proactive process control system by which food quality is ensured. This system is now mandatory in the food and catering industry in Ireland under Article 15 of the European Union's hygiene and foodstuffs regulations. The HACCP involves a number of components — hazard analysis, identifying critical control points, establishing critical limits for them, monitoring critical control points requirements and using the data acquired to control processes effectively by taking corrective action, by appropriate record keeping and by verification.

The HACCP process revolves around the identification and documentation of potential hazards. The range of hazards includes safety hazards such as toxins, contamination, foreign bodies, decomposition, microbiology and non-safety hazards such as product quality and product substitution. The next step is to identify critical control points in the production process and establish critical limits to them. CCPs are those where the failure of the process would cause or contribute to the occurrence of a hazard. Critical limits are then established for each CCP and these limits are determined by Government regulations. Where a CCP is not relevant, the standard operating procedure is required.

We all remember what happened in Scotland some years ago with the cook-chill system. That system has been adopted by a number of health boards and everything is fine as long as the process is followed and food is stored at and reheated to the appropriate temperatures. If that is not done, listeria can result.

It is often forgotten that our water supply is a vital link in the food system. When we speak of food we think of bread and butter but water is also important. The indiscriminate spreading of slurry at inappropriate times is a danger. Fair play to the IFA and the farming organisations that have taken the trouble to police their members but there are rogues, the exceptions to the rule. In Lough Owel in Mullingar, the main water supply for north Westmeath, there was an instance of cryptosporidium leading to "boil water" notices being sent out to the town and surrounding areas. This is a spring lake and a vital food source that we must protect.

The standard operating procedure should be that all food purchasing should be from companies registered with the local health board, the county council veterinary department or other relevant authority.

The standard for transport should be that high risk food should be refrigerated at a temperature of not more than 5° Celsius, ideally 3° Celsius, or -18° in the case of frozen foods. The transport container must be clean, weather proof and have good air flow. Delivery is also critical. Critical limits should be that the food should be at a temperature of not more than 5° Celsius, ideally 3° Celsius, and refrigerated without delay.

Storage is vital. Food should be refrigerated at a temperature of not more than 5° Celsius, ideally 3° Celsius, and all doors should be kept closed. Segregation of food must take place to avoid cross-contamination.

Preparation is imperative and high standards of hygiene must be observed in the preparation of food. The critical limit for cooking should be that all food reaches a core temperature of 75° Celsius for a minimum of two minutes. If food is being kept hot for carvery or banqueting, where the food shall not be served immediately after cooking, it must be kept hot. The critical limit for hot holding should be that food that has reached a core temperature of 75° Celsius for a minimum of two minutes should be held at a minimum of 63° Celsius while it is waiting to be served.

Cooling is an important process. Critical limits should be that cooked food shall be cooled as quickly as possible and refrigerated within 90 minutes of cooking and that food should reach a core temperature of not less than 10° Celsius within a further 60 minutes of being placed in the refrigerator.

Reheating is also important. The critical limit should be food that has reached 74° Celsius and has been effectively cooled after this cooking must reach a temperature of at least 70° Celsius on reheating. If that is not done there is a real danger of listeria breaking out.

We are a small country with great potential. The high standards that obtain in most situations must be maintained and observed and we should interfere to the extent of reporting situations where food production outlets do not maintain appropriate standards. We should alert the authorities where such low standards exist.