A new study has measured the potential hazards found during preparation of pork in the home. It used Salmonella-contaminated pork products to measure how easy it is to inadvertently contaminate other foodstuffs when preparing pork.Three types of pork products were chosen: pork cuts, minced pork burgers, and fermented sausages. It showed - unsurprisingly - that heating [...]
A plan to impose tougher penalties on restaurants, cafes and takeaways infested with pests is good news for diners, according to a national trade body. Business owners found guilty of food safety offences could now face much bigger fines or even jail terms following the introduction of new sentencing guidelines.The British Pest Control Association (BPCA) [...]
The owner of a Chinese restaurant in Leeds city centre has been fined for filthy kitchen conditions. Lai Hong Cheong, director of OBM on New York Street, pleaded guilty to five food hygiene offences at Leeds Magistrates Court earlier this week. She was ordered to pay £5,000 after the court heard the restaurant had posed [...]
Is duck safe when cooked medium-rare? Not according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) it isn’t. As the FSA continues to focus on Campylobacter – the UK’s leading bacterial cause of food poisoning – last week they reiterated their advice that all poultry should be cooked through, and even duck cannot be safely eaten medium-rare. Recent studies have [...]
At least 100 people are sick with vomiting and diarrhoea on Celebrity Cruises vessel Celebrity Infinity. This is not a ship with a good track record in this regard: outbreaks of gastrointestinal sickness also occurred on Celebrity Infinity in 2013 and 2006. This is the fourth outbreak of sickness this year on cruise ships stopping in the USA: the [...]
Branded restaurants are continuing to steal a march on their independent counterparts, as customers increasingly demand better quality at reasonable prices, according to new research. Figures from the NPD Group show that sales at independent outlets have dropped by 22.8% since 2008, while business in chain restaurants has increased by 15.5% during the same period. [...]
It may sound like the makings of a bad joke but answering the question of how chickens crossed the sea may soon provide more than just a punchline. A study of the mysterious ancestry of the feral chicken population that has overrun the Hawaiian Island of Kauai may aid efforts to curtail the damage done by invasive [...]
Five new apprenticeship standards for hospitality have been approved by Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The standards have been developed by a group of operators known as the hospitality trailblazer, who have been led by Hilton Worldwide and managed by People 1st. Those involved include Compass Group, Brownsword Hotels, Whitbread, and Lancaster London. The [...]
Foodservice bosses have rejected suggestions that the sector is ageist, but have urged operators to remove the barriers preventing older workers from entering the workplace or prepare to face a looming recruitment crunch. Speaking last week at The Caterer’s Foodservice Forum, BaxterStorey director Simon Esner suggested that older workers may be the UK’s only hope [...]
More than 100 restaurateurs, hoteliers and catering professionals have signed an open letter protesting at the "bureaucratic nightmare" of new EU regulations on allergens. The regulations - which became mandatory in December 2014 - require businesses to identify, record and clearly communicate the presence of any of 14 allergens in a dish or drink, aiming to [...]
