Author: Peacock Carter

A discount store in the north of Glasgow has been refused an alcohol licence following concerns that drinking in the local area was double the Scottish average.

Home Bargains in Springburn had applied to Glasgow City Council’s licensing board to sell wines, beers and spirits.

However, the bid was rejected by Glasgow City Council’s licensing board after it was pointed out that alcohol-related harm in the area was more than double the national average.

Elaina Smith, of Glasgow city health and social care partnership, told the licensing board on: “This neighbourhood is already filled with supermarkets and stores which sell alcohol.

“To have another one would make the problem even bigger. The existing harm levels in Springburn are above the Scottish rates.

“Selling alcohol in this Home Bargains is likely to add to the problem.”

Councillor Margaret Morgan said: “I am shocked that the alcohol harm rate in Springburn is 220% above the national average.

“People can buy alcohol from Tesco and Lidl. Having another shop selling alcohol is going to make the issue even bigger.”

Members were informed by the Home Bargains representative that the shop in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, could sell alcohol and there had not been any problems.

Councillor Alex Wilson said: “I am very aware of the retail park in Clydebank – it adds value to the area.

“But I am also concerned about the alcohol-related harm levels which have been presented to us.

“I would like to know what you would do to address that and give the board some comfort?”

A representative for Home Bargains said: “I don’t agree that the supply of alcohol would lead to people drinking more or drinking more harmfully.

“What we can enforce is the Challenge 25 and work with the local authority and police if there were concerns about people’s drinking habits.

“We have staff who are trained at identifying signs of people who are intoxicated and they would not sell them alcohol.”

Mr Wilson replied: “While I agree with you on some things, I have seen severe intoxication on many occasions in Springburn shopping centre which worries me.”

Councillor Matt Kerr said: “We have to understand that there are vulnerable people in this area who are more likely to drink alcohol.”

Ms Smith added: “There are high levels of extreme poverty. They may not intentionally go to the store to purchase alcohol but if they see a bargain they will pick it up.
Following the discussion members refused the licence.

Twenty-one out of 55 bottles of vintage Scotch whiskies tested at a specialist laboratory have been found to be fake.

The research was conducted at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), based in East Kilbride which is home to one of the UK’s four Radiocarbon Accelerator Units. The lab used advanced radiocarbon dating techniques to forensically test and analyse a range of different whiskies. The analysis, which took more than 9 months to complete, measured residual concentrations of a radioactive isotope of carbon present in the alcohol contained in each bottle in order to establish the ages of the whiskies.

The samples had been sent for analysis by whisky broker Rare Whisky 101 (RW101) on the back of growing concern surround the proliferation of fake whisky in the secondary market.T he bottles had been selected at random from auctions, private collections and retailers.

Of particular note are three rare whisky bottles identified as fakes this included an Ardbeg 1885, which had been acquired from a private owner, Thorne’s Heritage early 20th Century blended whisky purchased from an auctioneer and a bottle of Ardbeg purported to be bottled in 1960’s bought from a retailers.

RW101 said a total of 10 single malts purporting to be from 1900 or earlier were found not to be genuine.

The company said that if tests had proven all 21 bottles to be genuine, collectively they could have been valued at about £635,000. Individual bottles could have fetched anything from £2,500 for the lowest value bottle right up to an estimated £150,000 for the oldest, most valuable bottle.

Professor Gordon Cook, head of the SUERC Radiocarbon Laboratory said: ‘We have had significant help from the major distillers who provided whisky samples of known age that allowed us to start this work.

‘However, it has been our collaboration with Rare Whisky 101 and their provision of really old and rare whiskies that has allowed us to really push this work forward to what we consider to be the Gold Standard technique for identifying the age of a whisky.

‘It is disappointing to see the large percentage of vintage whiskies that turn out to be fake. However, we have developed a very powerful technique to beat the fraudsters and I’d advise anyone thinking about selling what they consider to be an early product to have it analysed.

‘Recently, we have analysed four bottles of early whisky (including a rye whisky from the USA), purported to have been distilled between the mid-19th to the early 20th century, for members of the general public. Of these, three were genuine, so there are really old and rare whiskies in existence.’

The process through which these whiskies have been dated is based on the evolving science of identifying levels of radiocarbon (or C-14) within the liquid. Carbon-14 is that element’s only radioactive isotope and every piece of organic material. Its relatively slow rate of radioactive decay means it has a half-life of 5,370 years. In other words it takes that long for half of it to be gone. Measuring how much Carbon-14 remains in a sample gives an accurate indication of how old it is.

The energy content of a large number of main meals in major UK restaurants is “excessive” and the full service restaurant meals tend to be higher in energy content than fast food meals, research published in the BMJ has found. 

University of Liverpool researchers analysed thousands of meals from places like Nando’s and McDonald's. The researchers examined at more than 13,500 meals on the menus of 21 full service restaurants and six fast-food chains. 

The observational study accessed online nutritional information for each restaurant and extracted the number of kilocalories for each eligible meal. Although nutritional information tends not to be displayed on UK restaurant menus in store, some restaurant chains provide this information on their websites. For those who did not not provide nutritional information on their UK website the researchers requested this information

The study found that in of all the restaurants included, the mean energy content of main meals was 977kcal. A sizeable proportion (47%) were “excessive” in energy content (≥1000 kcal), and only a small minority (9%) were in line with public health recommendations for main meal energy consumption (≤600 kcal). 

On average, the energy content of main meals served by full service restaurants was 268 kcal higher than that of main meals served by fast food restaurants. Full service restaurants also tended to serve more highly calorific main meals and provide fewer main meals meeting public health recommendations for energy consumption.

Well-known restaurant chains with high calorie content included Harvester, at 1,166 calories, JD Wetherspoon, with 1119 calories, and Nandos, on 1,019 calories. The biggest offender was Hungry Horse with 1358 calories on average in a main meal. 

Among fast food chains, meals at Burger King had an average of 711 calories, followed by Wimpy, at 721 calories, and McDonald’s at 726 calories. The highest meal in a restaurant classed as “fast-food” was at KFC, with an average of 987 calories.

Even when the study compared similar meals, the energy content in restaurant meals was greater. Burger meals in restaurants contained an average of 414kcal more than burger meals in fast-food chains, while salad meals in restaurants were   slightly higher in calories on average than fast food salads.

Dr Eric Robinson, lead researcher from Liverpool's department of psychological science, said the results were "shocking" but probably underestimated the calories consumed in restaurants as the analysis did not include drinks, starts, desserts or side orders. 

He said: "Only one-in-ten of the meals we surveyed could be considered a healthy number of calories.

He said: "It's really clear what the food industry need to do – they need to act more responsibly and reduce the number of calories that they're serving."

Britain’s restaurant habits are fuelling its obesity crisis he said, with four in ten adults eat out at least once a week.

Dr Robinson said the poor nutritional content of 'fast food' is well known but full service restaurants where dining tables are provided have received less attention.

Dr Robinson said portion size, the ingredients used and cooking methods could explain the difference, but he said the food industry had to make changes.

"It's really clear what the food industry need to do. They need to act more responsibly and reduce the number of calories that they're serving."

Researchers said many public health experts had focussed concern on fast foods, but not paid enough attention to the stodgy and fatty fare sold in high street restaurants.

Kate Nicholls, chief executive of trade association UKHospitality, said restaurants, pubs and other hospitality businesses were already taking action to reduce calories and offer healthier dishes – but there were costs to consider too.

"Proposals to shrink the size of dishes or cap calories would be yet another burden for hard-pressed operators to absorb, resulting in prices going up and investment in businesses going down; inevitably negatively impacting the overall customer experience."

The researchers said it was possible the fast-food sector was now offering more lower-energy meals and healthier options, after pressure from campaigners to do so.

Food Standards Scotland is currently consulting on a proposal to improve the out of home food environment in Scotland which closed on 22 February 2019. 

“(Over)eating out at major UK restaurant chains: observational study of energy content of main meals” published by the BMJ can be found here.

Food delivery platform, Just Eat has announced plans to display the official Food Hygiene Rating of each of its UK restaurant partners directly on its platform both in-app and online.

Following consultations with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), Just Eat will launch its trial of the initiative in Northern Ireland in early 2019 with over 600 restaurants. Following a full evaluation of the trial, a national roll-out will be implemented later in the year.

Whilst Just Eat already provides a link to the FSA’s website on each restaurant’s menu page so that customers can access food hygiene ratings, the change will make ratings instantly clear in-app and online.

Graham Corfield, UK managing director at Just Eat, said: “We are always looking to do more for both our partners and customers and displaying hygiene ratings will provide better access to this important information than ever before.”

The BBC Watchdog Live has found that leading restaurant and coffee shop chains are giving out incorrect allergy advice.

Acting as customers with food allergies, Watchdog Live's journalists covertly filmed staff at Frankie & Benny's, Pizza Hut, Nandos, Pizza Express, Starbucks and Costa. The journalists asked staff if specific dishes contained one of the 14 major allergens, including nuts, mustard and celery – which is often used as flavouring in stocks and sauces.

None of the outlets visited had allergens listed on menus or labels, so customers must rely on staff being able to give accurate information.

Five out of the 30 outlets visited gave the reporters incorrect information.

By law, cafes, restaurants and takeaways should be able to give customers clear information about which dishes contain allergens. 

Out of the six chains, only Pizza Express gave accurate advice in each of the five branches visited.

Starbucks, Costa, Frankie & Benny's and Nando's said that the incidents Watchdog's undercover team experienced fell short of their usual standards. They told the programme they've addressed the issues with staff at both a regional and national level. 

Pizza Hut told the BBC that while the information provided to Watchdog's undercover journalist was ultimately correct, it is now taking steps to make allergy information clearer.  The pizza chain is introducing QR codes on menu cards this week, and will be making the font size of text in its nutritional guide bigger in the new year. 

At a Costa Coffee branch, the reporter asked for a mince pie they knew contained milk, however even after thoroughly consulting the allergy book they were told by staff that it contained soya milk. 

In one Frankie & Benny's restaurant the undercover journalist told staff she had a celery allergy and enquired about eggs royale, which contains celery, according to the company's website. The server did not at any point consult a product information guide or check with the kitchen, but assured the journalist that the dish didn't contain any celery. 

In a branch of Pizza Hut, a reporter asked if the mac n' cheese contained mustard, which is listed as an ingredient on the company's website. A member of staff showed the reporter a book containing allergy advice, but neither the reporter or the staff member could understand the information in the book.

When the reporter asked if the pepperoni pizza contained mustard, he was told that the member of staff couldn't give him any more information than that listed in the allergy book, which was unclear.

At a Nando's restaurant, the reporter asked if a burger contained mustard. The server guessed that it didn't, but on checking the allergen book, discovered that the burger did in fact contain the ingredient.

While in one branch of Starbucks the advice was ambiguous, with a staff member initially telling the reporter the item he'd chosen – a lemon loaf cake with almonds in the ingredients – did not contain nuts, but ultimately advising there was still a risk of nut contamination.

At one Frankie and Benny's restaurant, a reporter was asked to agree to terms and conditions that state Frankie and Benny's can never guarantee that a dish is completely free of any allergen – except for gluten. The server told the reporter the form "saves our back".

Frankie & Benny's owner The Restaurant Group told Watchdog Live that the allergy advice presented to customers to read and tick is not a disclaimer. The firm added that it does not ask its customers to waive their rights.

The findings come three weeks after Watchdog Live found supermarket bakery counters giving incorrect allergy information, prompting Sainsbury's and Asda to pledge to introduce allergy labels on all in-store bakery products.

Cuts to environmental health departments are putting the public at “high risk of harm”, according to the Unison Tipping Point Study.

The study used Freedom of Information requests to local authorities and a Scotland-wide survey of UNISON members working in environmental health departments to examine the impact of austerity in areas such as food safety and standards, waste management and pollution control.

It found the teams have to manage an ever-increasing workload with significantly reduced resources, leaving many working long hours as they struggle to maintain a service that keeps the public safe.

More than two-thirds (67%) of those who responded said there had been cuts or severe cuts in their service this year, while 95% said there had been cuts or severe cuts in the last five years.

Fewer than one in five (18%) believe their teams have the resources to deliver an adequate service to the public while two-thirds say they are working late and skipping breaks and lunch to try to get more work done.

There are five per cent fewer environmental health officers and around a fifth (21%) less people in other roles in the teams than in 2012/13 and budgets have been cut by 14% compared to 2012/13 and by 12% since 2016/7.

In addition, 90% say their workload is higher than five years ago while 76% described morale in their team as low or very low.

The report said cuts to environmental health team budgets are leaving staff overworked, underpaid and stressed.

It warned this means “citizens and the wider environment are at a high risk of harm” and calls for an end to austerity and for investment in public services.

Mark Ferguson, chairman of Unison Scotland’s local government committee, said: “This report shows our environmental health services have reached tipping point, leaving us all at risk of harm.

“Our members are under enormous pressure, with many working long hours trying to maintain a quality service.

“This survey shows a dedicated workforce who are struggling under the sheer volume of work, with nine in 10 saying their workload is higher than five years ago.

“Teams are now reacting to complaints rather than focusing on working to prevent things going wrong.

“Our members can see departments depleted, with the loss of experienced staff, fewer proactive inspections and services being drastically cut.

“Not only does this put people in danger it also pushes costs onto other public bodies – which costs more money than investing in a high quality environmental health service.”

The report also highlighted a looming skills gap as almost half of respondents to the survey, carried out in June 2018, are aged between 46 and 55 – with another fifth due to retire over the next ten years. It warned with fewer staff being taken on to develop this will mean a huge loss of knowledge, which it said is vital in such a complex protective service.

The report said teams are now reacting to complaints rather than focusing on working to prevent things going wrong, with some areas of work completely cut back on, increasing the risk of accidents, food poisoning, contaminated land and vermin infestation.

Tom Bell, chief executive of REHIS was asked to make comment by “The Herald” regarding the findings, he said the Institute had warned about the effect of cuts on services, but now the effect had reached a “critical point” and was concerned that it had led to a slump in the number taking BSC (Hons) in environmental health.

Tom Bell also suggested that consideration should be given to establishing a central fund that would allow local authorities to address the lack of training placements for student/graduate trainee Environmental Health Officers (EHO). This in turn would give confidence to school leavers considering studying environmental health at the University of the West of Scotland that the chances of a career as an EHO are high.

Tom continued: “We are now at the stage where there are a very small number of individuals coming through to fill an increasing number of vacancies. So it has been very very poor management by local authorities, in that they haven’t foreseen this situation, and if they have, they have decided that the work of the environmental health officers has not been sufficiently important to justify really investing in the future and ensuring training places are available.”

Tom also stressed that the Institute has been warning Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA), local authorities and the Scottish Government and its agencies of our concerns for many years and not only in recent months.

A CoSLA spokesman said: “As our #essentialservices campaign makes abundantly clear, we need a fair settlement from December’s Budget to continue to provide the essential services our communities rely on
“As we see from things like this, it is clear that the impact of past local government settlements are having a biting impact.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Despite continued UK Government real-terms cuts to Scotland’s resource budget, we have treated local government very fairly.

“In 2018-19, councils will receive funding through the local government finance settlement of £10.7 billion. This will provide a real terms boost in both revenue and capital funding for public services.

“Local authorities are responsible for managing their own budgets and priorities, including environmental health.

“The Finance Secretary will present the Scottish Government’s future funding for local government in the Scottish Budget later this year.”

Unison Tipping Point Study can be found here: http://www.unison-scotland.org/library/2018-Environmental-Health-final.pdf

Three supermarket chains have given confusing or incorrect information on allergens in their bakeries, the BBC Watchdog has found.

Branches of Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco gave wrong or unclear details to the undercover reporters from the BBC’s consumer programme. The reporters visited 24 supermarket bakeries, five of which showed cause for concern. 

The retailers said they would review their labelling and staff training.

The EU says that consumers must be made aware when one or more of 14 particular allergens – including nuts, sesame, milk, eggs and wheat – is used as an ingredient in food products. In the UK, non-pre-packaged food does not need to be individually labelled on packaging, but stores must ensure clear and accurate information is readily available. 

In one Asda bakery, staff said an item did not contain the allergen sesame, when it was in fact listed as an ingredient for the product on the store's website.

In other Asda stores, the programme found staff were able to give a general warning that products may contain nuts or seeds, without being able to identify specific allergens contained within the recipe.

Reporters for the programme also found Tesco did list allergens on most of its products, but not for unwrapped bread rolls, paninis and pastries in some stores. At one branch, an undercover reporter posing as someone with a milk allergy found a senior member of staff who was unable to locate any ingredients information for an unpackaged panini that contained milk.

Sainsbury's did not list any of the 14 allergens on packaging or shelf labels in their in-store bakeries, but did tell customers to "ask a bakery colleague" about allergens. A staff member at one branch told an undercover reporter a raisin whirl was free of nuts – but when the staff member found a product information guide it listed almonds as an ingredient. 

Sainsbury's said it would update its labels "to include more specific allergen information".

Tesco said it exceeded "the current legal requirements", but in light of the Watchdog investigation a spokesperson said the food retailer would be "reviewing how allergy information is displayed moving forward".

Asda said in all the instances flagged up by Watchdog Live, its staff "ultimately advised the customer not to buy the product". But a spokesman added the supermarket was "also working to implement detailed allergen labels on our in-store bakery products".

The Watchdog Live’s report was shown on 7 November 2018 on BBC One.

On the 27 October 2018, a group of 7 students and a lecturer from a small class of 13 students gathered for a meal in Edinburgh to celebrate 40 years since they all met for the first time as first year students attending the block release course of Sanitary Science at Napier College.

The date they gathered also happened to be 36 years to the day, when they all attended for their professional exams and interviews with the Royal Sanitary Association of Scotland, the leading professional body prior to the formation of the Chartered Institute of Scotland and then REHIS. The class from Napier College were accompanied by the principal lecturer on the Sanitary Science Course, Professor Francis McManus.

The route into the environmental profession in those days comprised four years of block release study, with annual exams and the maintenance of an annual practical record of training, whilst gaining practical experience from their employing Local Authority, culminating in professional exams to gain professional status to become a qualified EHO.

The group below, always a very social bunch, raised their glasses on several occasions to lecturers form the college, to Iain McDonald (deceased) their Gold Medal student and the Sanitary Science Course itself. An enjoyable evening was had by all recounting a number of escapades and organised visits to distilleries and breweries organised by the college. The course provided an excellent education for professional environmental health officers, and many pictured below are chartered EHOs still working either in the private or the public sector still plying their trade to promote and protect public health.

The class next plan to meet up again in 4 year’s time to celebrate 40 years since their own graduation.

Pictured below are (left to right) Jean Allan, Elaine Devine, Kevin Boyle, Francis McManus, Campbell Stewart, Neil Doherty, Lesley Cooke and Roy Stewart.

Curbs on the marketing of alcoholic drinks to protect children are included in new plans to tackle alcohol harm.

The Scottish Government’s ‘Alcohol Framework 2018: Preventing Harm’, includes proposals to consult on alcohol marketing such as public spaces and online. Under the framework, the UK Government will be pressed to impose a 9pm watershed for alcohol advertising on TV, and restrictions on advertising in cinemas are also proposed.

Alcohol producers will be urged to put health information on labels, and the current minimum unit price of 50 pence will be reviewed after 1 May 2020.

Alcohol misuse costs Scotland £3.6 billion each year – £900 for every adult – and on average, almost 700 Scots are hospitalised because of their drinking every week.

Speaking at the European Alcohol Policy Conference in Edinburgh, Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said:

“Our new Alcohol Framework sets out our next steps on tackling alcohol-related harm. We need to keep challenging our relationship with alcohol to save lives. Behind each statistic is a person, a family, a community struggling with the impact of alcohol harms. These new measures build on the progress of our 2009 Framework which has made an impact by tackling higher-risk drinking, but we want to go further.

“Scotland’s action is bold and it is brave and, as demonstrated by our world-leading minimum unit pricing policy, we are leading the way in introducing innovative solutions to public health challenges.”

Large-scale Low Emission Zones (LEZs) can deliver improvements in urban air quality and these can be linked to changes in childhood respiratory health. However, more ambitious schemes are required to meet legislative limits and deliver improvements to respiratory health, according to a study in the Lancet Public Health journal.

The study looked into the impact of London’s LEZ and found that while it has improved air quality it has not been enough to benefit children’s lung health.

The observational study was conducted with more than 2,000 primary school children living in areas of high pollution within the low emission zone. The research tested the lung capacity of eight-to nine year old children between 2009 and 2014. It began just after LEZ charges began and continued after the rules were tightened in 2012. 

LEZs are in place in 200 cities across Europe but only reductions in nitrogen dioxide were identified; as the percentage of children living at addresses exceeding the EU limit value for annual NO2 (40 μg/m3) fell from 99% in 2009 to 34% in 2013. However, little progress was found in the reduction of ultrafine particles (PM2.5) or particulate matter (PM10) over the study period, which is a health concern due to their ability to reach deep inside the lung. 

Within London's LEZ, a smaller lung volume in children was associated with higher annual air pollutant exposures. The study found that despite small improvements in air quality there was no evidence of a reduction in the proportion of children with small lungs over the five years since the zone was implemented.

Author of the report Professor Chris Griffiths from Queen Mary University of London said: ‘Some improvements in air quality have been made despite the diesel vehicles emitting higher levels of pollutants in the real world than in tests. 

‘Even so, many areas of inner and outer London are still breaching EU air pollution standards and are unlikely to meet them without a substantial tightening of current emission controls.’

Griffiths said: ‘Although changes of this magnitude are unlikely to cause problems in healthy children, we urgently need to know whether these lung deficits will impact lung function and health in later life.

‘Until longer-term impacts are known, doctors should consider advising parents of children with clinically significant lung disease to avoid living in highly polluted areas, or to adopt personal mitigation measures to limit their exposure. More research is needed to identify factors that lead to increased susceptibility or protection.’

MPs have called on the Government to strengthen the commitments made in its 25-year Environment Plan in order to prepare for the event of a no-deal Brexit scenario, claiming that the UK is currently at risk of losing one-third of green legislation if no agreement with the EU is agreed.

After writing a report citing its concerns about the UK’s 25-year Environment Plan earlier this year, the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has now published the Government’s response.

The EAC’s initial report, published in July, called on the Government to create legally-binding targets for environmental issues that can be scrutinised by a new independent oversight body. Specifically, the report called for issues such as air quality, waste, water and soil to be subject to five-year reports.

It additionally recommended that the UK’s new green watchdog should have the power take the Government and other public bodies to court where standards are breached, as well as the remit to oversee all public authorities and to initiate its own investigations that can be adjudicated by the courts.

The concern is that after Britain leaves the EU, there will be no UK body to replace the role of the European Commission or the European Environment Agency, which has the same power.

Responding to the EAC’s initial report, the Government claimed that it “already has extensive legal targets for the environment” which have been enshrined into UK law.

It additionally suggested that it is preparing to make sure a new statutory body is in place “as soon as is practically achievable” in the event of a no-deal Brexit – but provided no information on what powers the watchdog will have, or how these powers will be exacted.

“The Prime Minister has been clear that we will use the opportunity Brexit provides to strengthen and enhance our environmental protections – not to weaken them,” the Government’s response letter to the EAC states.

“A strong and objective voice that champions and enforces environmental standards will help the Government achieve our objectives of a Green Brexit and the vision set out in the 25-year Environment Plan.”

The letter of response was criticised by EAC chair Mary Creagh MP, who claimed that it failed to show a commitment to replacing the 33% of EU environmental legislation which has not yet entered into UK law.

“The Government’s woolly response makes no firm commitments on the future governance of the environment after Brexit, which is of great concern, given that the Agriculture Bill is making its way through Parliament,” Creagh said.

“If we want a world-leading environment, we need a strong, independent environmental watchdog which Ministers cannot quietly put to sleep. It is also deeply worrying that the response does not commit to replace the one-third of EU environmental legislation that cannot be copied and pasted into UK law after Brexit.

It is deeply worrying that the response does not commit to replace the one third of EU environmental legislation that cannot be copied and pasted into UK law after Brexit. It should set five yearly wildlife budgets, so people can see taxpayers' money being spent on public goods like flood prevention, protecting species from extinction and restoring our soils."

Despite Creagh’s concerns, the Government’s response does include a fresh commitment to publish annual reports on progress towards the 200 goals included in the 25-year Environment Plan.

It contains a pledge to bring forward draft clauses on the oversight and scrutiny functions of the regulatory body to this Autumn.