Author: Peacock Carter

As Scotland progresses into Phase 3 of lifting the restrictions around COVID-19, keep up to date with dates of specific restrictions being lifted and guidance for various situations, premises and businesses here. 

The Drinking Water Quality Regulator are about to embark on a project that will consider ways to better handle the Private Water Supply (PWS) data. 

In order to take Local Authority feedback into account in the course of the project, they need to have your response back by Friday July 3rd and this can be submitted via the short survey below.

Private Water Supply Annual Return Survey- Local Authority Feedback

The survey has already been sent to those who submitted their Local Authority report last year, and thank you for those who have responded,  this is a further circulation to try and ensure all Local Authorities are represented in this feedback.

The Institute of Food Science and Technology have produced Questions and Answers regarding What do we know about viruses, coronaviruses and their impact on food safety and food supply chains?

Q1. Why be concerned about viruses in the food supply chain? 

Many viruses are of concern in food chains because they can either produce illness in humans or problems for animal health and welfare. Viruses often considered in food safety risk assessments include norovirus, Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E. Water and some foods have been known to act as vehicles for viral transmission e.g. sewage contaminated water sources often linked to norovirus contamination of food sources such as oysters, and handling of live animals in food preparation being linked to avian influenza outbreaks in humans (1). These infectious diseases are often termed zoonotic i.e. they are transmissible between animals and humans, and alternatively humans to animals (1, 2). 

“Emerging viruses” is a term used to describe the appearance of viruses whose presence has increased over the past twenty years or whose presence threatens to increase in the years to come (3). H5N1 (causing avian influenza) SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV2 (causing COVID-19) are all emerging viruses. 

Robust food hygiene controls are needed to prevent foodborne illness through presence of pathogenic viruses. For more details see also IFST Information Statements on Foodborne viral infections (4), Avian influenza and food (5) and HIV/AIDS and the food handler (6). 

Q2. What are coronaviruses? 

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause disease in humans, ranging from the common cold to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Coronaviruses, as with some Hepatitis viruses, Influenza, Herpes, Newcastle Disease and Orthopox viruses, are enveloped viruses. Enveloped viruses are viruses that possess an envelope or outer coating that is composed of a lipid layer (fat-like substance that is water insoluble). The envelope is needed to aid in attachment of the virus to the host cell. Loss of, or damage to, the outer envelope results in loss of infectivity. 

There are hundreds of different coronaviruses in this large family of viruses which are named for the crown-like spikes on their surfaces (7, 8). They circulate in certain animal populations and can cause illness in those populations. Some of the animals associated with coronaviruses include bats, camels, cats and pigs (7). 

Coronaviruses can cause diarrhoea in cows and pigs and upper respiratory disease in chicken (8). These viruses can in certain circumstances transfer from animals to humans as can many bacteria e.g. Salmonella, Campylobacter and so on. Whilst some animals may be the reservoir hosts e.g. bats, other animals can act as an intermediary host and it may be these animals that humans are more likely to come into contact with (9). In the Wuhan situation some sources have suggested pangolins as a potential intermediary host and advise that they should be removed from wet markets (9). 

Q3. Which coronaviruses are a human health concern? 

There are 7 known coronaviruses, 3 of which can cause severe illnesses such a pneumonia. The other 4 cause mostly mild infections such as the common cold. 

The three of greatest health concern are Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV); Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV), and the novel virus we are most concerned about right now SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 (7). 

COVID-19 is the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 which emerged from China in December 2019 and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on March 11 2020. (7) 

Q4. What is COVID-19?

COVID-19 is ‘the name of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 and is short for ‘Coronavirus Disease 2019’, as opposed to the name of the virus itself. This new virus, SARS-CoV-2 and disease (COVID-19) were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. 

COVID-19 spreads primarily from person to person through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks. People can catch COVID-19 if they breathe in these droplets from a person infected with the virus. Therefore, it is important to stay at a 2-metre distance away from others. 

These droplets containing the virus can land on objects and surfaces around the person such as tables, doorknobs and handrails. People can also become infected by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Therefore, it is important to wash your hands regularly with soap and water or clean with alcohol-based hand rub if there are no handwashing facilities nearby. 

The probability of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 via the consumption of food or the handling of food contact materials or packaging for food produced in the UK is considered by UK FSA to be Negligible to Very Low (i.e. between ‘so rare that it does not merit to be considered’ and ‘very rare but cannot be excluded’) (12). 

WHO and ECDC currently agree that there is currently no confirmed case of COVID-19 transmitted through food or food packaging (13, 14). 

At this time, there are no specific vaccines or treatments for COVID-19. However, there are many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments and vaccines. 

Q5. Influenza viruses have also been linked to concern over human pandemics, why? 

The main concern about influenza viruses in general is their ability to cross species barriers. 

The 1918 influenza pandemic (Spanish Flu) was the most severe pandemic in recent history and was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. The origin remains unclear, but it spread worldwide and infected an estimated 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide. 

Influenza H5N1 virus was first noted in birds in 1996, and it was only a year later that the first human cases were seen (3). In 2009 A(H1N1) which contained a unique combination of gene segments from North American and Eurasian swine lineages emerged to be a concern for human health (14). 

Note: Classification of influenza A type viruses, such as avian influenza or swine influenza is determined by the two surface glycoproteins, the hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N). Thus, the numbers associated with the H and the N proteins gives rise to the names of the individual influenza A viruses of concern in humans such as H1N1 or H5N1. 

Q6. What do we know about SARS and MERS? 

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) caused by the SARS-CoV coronavirus emerged in China in November 2002 and was a public health concern through to 2004 (7). Understanding around the epidemiology and ecology of SARS coronavirus infection remains presently incomplete and the risk of re-emergence is unpredictable. However, there have been no new reports of SARS infection in humans worldwide since 2003. 

Following its emergence, transmission of SARS-CoV occurred person to person, mostly via droplets (inhalation). It causes a high fever initially with pneumonia, which in some cases progresses to produce fatal respiratory failure (overall death rate has been about 10% but exceeded 50% for patients aged over 60 years). The natural reservoirs of SARS-CoV have not been identified, but several species of wildlife (e.g. civets, ferrets) consumed as delicacies in southern China have been found to be infected by a related coronavirus. Domestic cats living in the Amoy Gardens apartment block in Hong Kong (which was heavily hit by the outbreak) were also found to be infected. More recently, bats, ferrets and domestic cats were experimentally infected with SARS-CoV and found to efficiently transmit it. These findings indicate that the reservoir for this pathogen may include a wide range of animal species. 

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus MERS‐CoV. MERS was first reported in Saudi Arabia and was believed to have been transmitted from camels (7, 8) It was first identified in September 2012 and continues to cause outbreaks but on a very localised scale (7). 

Typical MERS symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. Pneumonia is common, but not always present. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea, have also been reported. Approximately 35% of reported patients with MERS-CoV infection have died. 

Although most of human cases of MERS-CoV infections have been attributed to human-to- human infections in health care settings, current scientific evidence suggests that dromedary camels are a major reservoir host for MERS-CoV and an animal source of MERS infection in humans. However, the exact role of dromedaries in transmission of the virus and the exact route(s) of transmission are unknown. The virus does not seem to pass easily from person to person unless there is close contact, such as occurs when providing unprotected care to a patient. Health care associated outbreaks have occurred in several countries, with the largest outbreaks seen in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the Republic of Korea. 

Q7. How are these types of coronaviruses spread? 

Initially SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 (causing COVID-19) must have transferred from their animal host to humans. Once in the human population there can be direct transmission i.e. person to person spread mainly via droplets (from sneezing, coughing etc.) or indirect transmission via surfaces and hand contact with those surfaces (10,15) These droplets can be inhaled or cross-transferred from surfaces to hands and then eyes and nose where hands are the vehicle of transmission (10). 

There is some suggestion that SARS-CoV and MERS CoV have the capacity to survive on surfaces for extended periods (15). The capacity to survive can vary according to the material that the surface is made of (15). Veterinary coronaviruses have been shown to remain on un-sanitised surfaces for 28 days, whereas some human coronaviruses have bene found to remain on such surfaces at room temperature for up to 9 days (14). Sanitation and hand hygiene are thus essential to control the spread of the virus. SARS- CoV can also survive in water, on foods and in sewage (15). 

Research is continuing into survival of SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19 on various surfaces and in different types of medium e.g. water, sewage, Initial results indicate a range of findings including that SARS-COV-2 can remain viable on hard surface for up to 72 hours (15) and no infectious virus could be detected from treated wood and cloth on day 2 or from treated smooth surfaces on day 4 (glass and banknote) or day 7 (stainless steel and plastic) (16). 

Factors influencing the survival of these coronaviruses on surfaces include: “strain variation, titre, surface type, suspending medium, mode of deposition, temperature and relative humidity, and the method used to determine the viability of the virus” (15). 

Different classes of microorganism susceptibility to biocides varies, with enveloped viruses being the most susceptible based on the removal of infectivity following the disruption of the envelope as shown in Figure derived from (17). 

Q8. How can viruses impact human health?

The viruses discussed here can have a significant impact on human health. 

Some details about various influenza and coronavirus related illnesses have been included in Table 1. 

The Scottish Government and UK Hospitality have both published guidance to support Scotland’s tourism and hospitality sector to reopen safety. 

The industry has been asked to prepare for reopening on 15 July, if sufficient progress is made to move to phase 3 of the route-map.

The Scottish Government’s guidance sets out the key public health measures that will need to be taken to allow safe reopening, including:

• Establishing physical distancing taking account of organisational capacity, queue management, signage and markings
• Enhanced hand hygiene measures and cleaning practice
• Advice on workforce planning, including training and equality issues
• Guidance for customers to ensure they know how to plan ahead and engage safely with the tourism and hospitality sector

The guidance has been developed in partnership with industry, unions and public health bodies. 

In addition, the UK Hospitality has also published comprehensive guidance for the reopening of hospitality businesses in Scotland which can be used in conjunction with the Scottish Government Guidance. 

It is expected that Food Standard’s Scotland COVID-19 Guidance for Food Business Operators and Their Employees will be updated once plans are announced for the re-opening of pubs and restaurants, to reflect measures that are appropriate for theses business. 

The Scottish Government has published new guidance for retailers and manufacturers to consider how people can safely return to work, updated guidance for the construction sector has also been published.

The documents, which are among the first for a number of specific sectors, have been developed in consultation with Local Authorities, Health Safety Executive, business and trades unions. It will provide advice on essential equipment and services needed to create the conditions for safer workplaces.

Companies are expected to undertake a robust risk management approach that has been developed and maintained through joint working with employees. This will offer assurances to workers when the time is right to return to work.

Working to the phased approach in the route map on easing lockdown published last week, it details the steps required for businesses, acknowledging that some will face more complications when reopening than others, while also considering the impact on employees.

The majority of respondents to a consultation on banning smoking near hospital buildings support a 15-metre enforcement zone to protect people from the dangers of second-hand smoke.

A total of 559 people or organisations commented on the possible introduction of a legally-enforceable no-smoking area around hospital buildings. 72% of them agreed that 15 metres was a suitable distance.

The Scottish Parliament has already passed legislation to make it an offence to light up in no-smoking areas outside hospitals. However, before penalties can be imposed, secondary legislation is needed on three technical matters which the consultation sought views on:

• the distance which will form the perimeter of the no-smoking areas outside a hospital building
• the wording of no-smoking notices and how they’re displayed
• whether there are any specific areas of land or buildings on hospital grounds where there is no need for a no-   smoking area

Following the publication of the consultation results, the Scottish Government will publish a paper within 12 weeks outlining how the findings will be taken forward and the timeframe for doing so.

Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said:

“Our hospitals need to be seen as accessible, open places which promote good health and lifestyle choices. Every aspect of life there should reflect that.

“This consultation asked questions on technical details which will allow regulations which are already agreed to come into force, extending the existing indoor smoking ban to a set distance outside hospital buildings.

“Smoking remains the most significant cause of ill health in Scotland  – leading to up to 100,000 hospitalisations per year and more than 9,000 premature deaths and I believe the enforcement of no-smoking areas will help us cut those numbers.”

Read the full analysis here.

The Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland (DWQR) is open for business, although as with all of us – under very different conditions than we were used to.

DWQR is the title of the Regulator herself: Sue Petch, who is independent of Scottish Ministers and is responsible for the scrutiny of the water company in Scotland, Scottish Water, with respect to drinking water quality; and the supervision of local authorities in their regulation of private water supplies.

There are ten of us in the Drinking Water Quality team authorised to work for Sue; covering operations, policy and support functions (we also use the term ‘DWQR’ to apply to the whole of Sue’s team). The Operations Team are primarily involved with the regulation of Scottish Water, and assisting with the supervision of local authorities who regulate private water supplies. The Regulatory Team are responsible for developing and implementing legislation, guidance and other policies with respect to drinking water quality in Scotland, as well as managing all of our data. Lately we have been setting up and leading a steering group to advance and overhaul private water supplies legislation; and are also trying to make sense of the recast Drinking Water Directive. To achieve all of this we are usually busy attending meetings with a variety of stakeholders; visiting water treatment works for investment sign-off, audits and incident investigation; contributing to training and conferences; and researching innovation. We are rarely all in the office at the same time and each week is different and brings its own challenges.

However at time of writing we are under lockdown in Scotland, and we anticipate that even when restrictions are eased things will not return to ‘normal’ for some time to come – either for us in DWQR or Scottish Water.

Over the last few months we have developed and adapted our working practices to accommodate the necessary changes required by our current circumstances so we can continue to provide the necessary direction to Scottish Water and local authorities in a fast-changing situation.

The backbone to regulation is the sampling and analysis of drinking water from consumers’ taps at a frequency set by legislation. Back in February we could see the potential for COVID-19 to make a significant change to the practices of regulatory sampling if it became an issue in Scotland, so after discussion with Scottish Water we developed and issued alternative sampling guidance so that samplers did not have to cold call consumers and to take account of potential staff absence. We were also aware that the households sampled were often elderly as these people were more likely to be at home during the day (pre-lockdown), and both Scottish Water and DWQR did not wish to risk their health or unnecessarily cause concern. Around the same time Scottish Water samplers started to experience some pushback on doorsteps from consumers who were wary at allowing access to their homes. We formalised the guidance in Information Letter 1/2020 and initiated regular virtual meetings with Scottish Water’s scientific services and public health team to keep communication open and monitor the situation. The Information Letter allowed Scottish Water to cease sampling from consumers’ taps and instead take zonal samples from storage point outlets and final water sample points, with the exception of plumbing metals which are to be caught up when restrictions are lifted. The overall aim is to ensure that public health is safeguarded at all times.

Meanwhile in DWQR HQ we postponed conferences in Edinburgh and Inverness organised with Scotland’s local authorities on private water supplies and cancelled non-essential visits to Scottish Water sites.

The week before lockdown was officially announced we held our annual business planning meeting under the cloud of realisation that this was probably the last time we would be in each other’s company for the foreseeable future. This was especially poignant for our colleague Hollie, who is now on maternity leave and very busy with preparations of her own!

Like the rest of the world, the end of March felt like it took about a year and April flew by, as we all got used to life at home and online. We confirmed the changes to Scottish Water’s operations for sampling and analysis and kept in regular contact about these as everyone adapted to the ’new normal’. Specific challenges for Scottish Water have included the transport of samples from the Scottish islands with restricted flights and ferries, which has resulted in subcontracting microbiology samples to a local UKAS accredited lab in Shetland. When bottle necks in analysis formed, the analysis of some indicator parameters (including colony counts) were temporarily suspended. Cryptosporidium sampling and analysis was scaled back to the regulatory minimum. These measures were done with full consultation and agreement of DWQR, and analysis restarted as soon as resource was available. The rigour demonstrated by the company has meant that DWQR has a high level of trust in their intentions and actions to only reduce their service when absolutely essential.

Fortunately the Scottish Government has always advocated working from home, and we were able to transfer all our internal meetings to videoconferencing without too much difficulty. The software and internet has (mostly) held up under the strain – and we have all becoming more tech savvy. Our meetings with external stakeholders are all online now too: with Scottish Water and also DEFRA and DWI, local authorities and other regulators. We even hold regular team ‘cake’ meetings online (as we have to provide our own cake, it’s an excuse to show off our new baking skills).

So at the moment we are in a new ‘business as usual’ phase. We continue to regulate from a distance: scrutinising data and events; examining paperwork and asking for photo/video evidence and auditing by videoconference. Our regular meetings with Scottish Water continue. DWQR may still visit Scottish Water sites when required for urgent regulatory purposes, taking account of any reasonable precautions requested by the company. The whole team is involved in writing our Annual Report at the moment, which is something that lends itself to working from home. We’re also doing plenty of training online, and without travel to occupy our weeks, we are eventually getting to the bottom of our ‘to do’ lists.

Looking forward, we are working towards exit strategies – including protocols for physically distant site visits and audits, and preparing with Scottish Water for an eventual return to ‘normal’ regulatory sampling – with the constraints of physically distancing and the awareness that consumers may be very reluctant to welcome doorstep calls for some time. At the moment the discussion is around sampling from Scottish Water employee’s homes and from trade and public buildings where this is appropriate to get the correct spread of zonal samples. The DWQR team have also offered their kitchen taps as sample points.

Over the last few months DWQR has developed new ways of working that we are confident will ensure our scrutiny of Scottish Water and drinking water quality continues despite the constraints we are all enduring, and we look forward to the day we can do something as simple as attend a meeting where someone else brings the biscuits.

Special thanks to Moira Malcolm, Drinking Water Specialist at DWQR for submitting this content, an interesting read on how fellow regulators are adapting their work under current Coronavirus restrictions.

The Institute has put in temporary measures to permit Approved Training Centres to deliver courses by remote learning by the use of live virtual training. Some courses are also available by eLearning. Even although Scotland appears to moving towards Phase 2 of the ‘exit of lock-down’ strategy, remote learning continues to be permitted by the Institute.

As businesses start to prepare to get open they will need to demonstrate that they have carried out a COVID-19 risk assessment and shared this with all employees. https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/working-safely/index.htm Staff training is an essential part of this. REHIS Community Training offer a wide range of compliance courses in areas of Food Hygiene, Health and Safety, Cleaning and Disinfection and Infection Prevention and Control.

The REHIS course syllabi for these courses at all levels are currently being updated to take into account the new virus COVID-19. However, all course presenters should be aware of the current pandemic guidelines and incorporate this into their training now.

There are many articles on the REHIS website with details of all the pandemic guidance and resources available to businesses.

If you have any questions, please email contact@

Environmental Health Officer’s around Scotland have now begun their role as contact tracers for Test and Protect- Scotland’s approach to implemented the “test, trace, isolate support” strategy. 

Since 28 May 2020, once an individual receives a positive result, a team of contact tracers will then gather details on individuals who have been in contact with the person who tested positive. The contact tracers will then proceed to contact these individuals and advise them to isolate.

As EHOs already have wide experience in contact tracing they are classed as “Expert Tracers”, they will provide mentoring to other contact tracers as well as dealing with more complex cases such as those who may require more persuasion to self-isolate or those who have been in contact with many people such as being on an airplane for example and the airline will need to be contacted. 

From the 28 May to 14 June, the test and protect figures are:

• Cases- 992 (of which 891 have completed contact tracing) 
• Contacts traced- 1239 

This data is produced weekly by Public Health Scotland who produce weekly releases which presents data on COVID-19 across NHSScotland. 

The data is the number of contacts which are recorded in the contact tracing software. As this is a new process and the recording within boards is embedding, there will be data quality issues, which will be resolved in the coming weeks through close management with PHS and NHS Boards. Therefore the figures presented are provisional and will be updated. However, the figures shown give an indication of activity on contact tracing across NHS Boards.

Photo Credit: Public Health Scotland

Food Standard’s Scotland have updated their COVID-19 Guidance for Food Business Operators and Their Employees on 19 June.

The update includes further clarification on the use of PPE, face masks and face coverings and fitness to work policy.

The Scottish Government has decided to pause plans to limit the way foods high in fat, sugar or salt can be promoted in the country and will not be taking forward the Restricting Food Promotions Bill. 

In September last year, the government pledged to bring the Bill on Restricting Foods Promotions forward before the end of this parliament in an attempt to address the obesity problem in Scotland. 

In answer to a parliamentary question from Paisley MSP George Adam, as to when the bill would be introduced, public health minister Joe Fitzpatrick said: “We are no longer planning to introduce the Restricting Foods Promotions Bill in this Parliament. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact, including on the food and drink and retail industries and on consumer behaviour. It is not yet clear what its long term impact will be. It is important we understand this fully and that we assess the economic and equality impacts of our proposed measures post-pandemic.

“Pausing the introduction of the Bill provides us with an opportunity to take stock. It enables us to take into account the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown, including on people’s diet and healthy weight. We will be able to consider fully whether a more wide-ranging Bill is required to tackle Scotland’s diet and weight problem after the pandemic.”

He added: “Tackling poor diet and overweight is a public health priority and remains a priority for this government. We are taking wide-ranging action to help people make healthier eating choices. As set out in our 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan, our ambition is to halve childhood obesity by 2030 and significantly reduce diet-related health inequalities.

“We remain fully committed to restricting the promotion and marketing of foods high in fat, sugar or salt where they are sold to the public and will seek to progress this measure as soon as it is possible to do so. Work already underway to further improve the evidence base to underpin the proposals will continue. We will also continue to engage with the other administrations in the UK to explore the scope for the possible alignment of policy and legislation.”

Lorraine Tulloch, programme lead of Obesity Action Scotland said: “This is disappointing news. While I understand that the food environment in Scotland has changed radically during the pandemic it has also become increasingly clear that people with obesity have had much worse outcomes from COVID-19, with an increased risk of being admitted to intensive care and of dying.

“If we want to secure the health, resilience and longevity of the people of Scotland then tackling overweight and obesity must be a priority. Obesity Action Scotland called on Scottish government to redouble its efforts to tackle obesity in the recovery phase and this step will hold up progress. I would urge the Scottish government to re-introduce this measure as soon as possible.”

HSE has issued a safety alert about the poor quality of face masks claiming to be KN95.

A substantial number of face masks, claiming to be of a KN95 standard, provide an inadequate level of protection and are likely to be poor quality products accompanied by fake or fraudulent paperwork. These face masks may also be known as filtering facepiece respirators.

KN95 is a performance rating under the Chinese standard GB2626:2006, the requirements of which are broadly the same as the European standard BSEN149:2001+A1:2009 for FFP2 facemasks. However, there is no independent certification or assurance of their quality and products manufactured to KN95 rating are declared as compliant by the manufacturer.  

Personal protective equipment (PPE) cannot be sold or supplied as PPE unless it is CE marked. The only exception is for PPE that is organised by the UK Government for use by NHS or other healthcare workers where assessments have been undertaken by HSE as the Market Surveillance Authority.  

KN95 must not be used as PPE at work as their effectiveness cannot be assured.                   

Masks that are not CE marked and cannot be shown to be compliant must be removed from supply immediately. If these masks have not been through the necessary safety assessments, their effectiveness in controlling risks to health cannot be assured for anyone buying or using them. They are unlikely to provide the protection expected or required.

If any are CE marked, suppliers must be able to demonstrate how they know the documentation and CE marking is genuine, supported by Notified Body documentation showing compliance with the essential health and safety requirements as required by the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations (EU) 2016/425.