Author: Peacock Carter

This year's BNF Healthy Eating Week will run from 12 to 16 June 2017.

The Week is open to all UK schools, universities and organisations wishing to take part.

Registration only takes a few minutes and is a great way to show your support for, and raise the profile of, healthy, active lifestyles. It also means you will be the first to hear about our exciting plans for BNF Healthy Eating Week 2017 and have access to some fantastic, exclusive resources to help you plan activities for your Week.

The aim of BNF Healthy Eating Week is to promote: – healthy eating and drinking; – being active; – food provenance; – and cooking.

All registration details provided will be kept confidential and only used to send you information relating to BNF Healthy Eating Week.

Last year, BNF Healthy Eating Week had 6,842 registrations from the education sector (reaching over 3.1 million young people) and 80 registrations from workplaces!

Register for BNF Healthy Eating Week 2017 here.

Health Protection Scotland (HPS) has published the E. coli O157 outbreak report on behalf of the Incident Management Team (IMT) which was established to investigate the national outbreak in summer 2016.

The report confirms that a total of 26 cases of the same strain of E. coli O157 were identified in the outbreak between July and mid-September 2016. This comprised of 24 primary cases and two secondary cases. 17 of the cases required admission to hospital and a three year old child died

The report has been produced by the multi-agency Incident Management Team including Health Protection Scotland, Food Standards Scotland, South Lanarkshire Council, Reference Laboratories, Health Protection teams from seven NHS Boards and Environmental Health teams from a further from 11 Local Authorities.

It details epidemiological, microbiological, food and environmental investigations and concludes the source of the outbreak was consumption of unpasteurised cow’s milk cheese, Dunsyre Blue. Of 24 primary cases 15 are known to have consumed Dunsyre Blue cheese within eight days before the onset of their symptoms. The epidemiological evidence is also supported by deficiencies in the procedures for monitoring and control of pathogenic E.coli at the food business. The report concludes that: "Potentially pathogenic E. coli were able to enter and survive the cheese production process at the food business. Positive results were obtained for cheese produced over a period of four months, indicating a systematic potential for Escherichia coli (STEC) to enter the process and contaminate final products."

This shows that the Incident Management Team’s decisions were informed by substantial epidemiological evidence as well as the wide range of sample failures showing potentially pathogenic E.coli and the fact that the food safety management system had to be amended to enable the company to recommence cheese production. Errington Cheese Ltd has disputed that Dunsyre Blue cheese was the cause of the outbreak, but this report now puts all the evidence pointing to this conclusion in the public domain.

The report can be accessed here.

Data published in February 2017 by Health Protection Scotland, showed a decline of 15.5% in the number of laboratory reports of human cases of campylobacter in Scotland in 2016, compared to the previous year. This is the consecutive year in which there has been a decline in reports of Campylobacter. Furthermore, in 2016 there were no general outbreaks of campylobacter reported.

In addition, information published by FSA indicate that this downward trend extends across the UK, with figures from clinical surveillance bodies showing a 17% reduction in the number of reported campylobacter cases in the UK in 2016. Results based on modelling undertaken by the FSA have estimated that these figures equate to 100,000 fewer cases of campylobacter across the UK as a whole. This has a positive impact on the burden to the economy, with fewer days off work and reduced NHS costs.

Levels of campylobacter; in chicken continue to decline, which is demonstrated in the first set of results from the FSA’s third year survey of campylobacter on fresh shop-bought whole chickens.

The results for the first five months of the third retail survey, from August to December 2016, show:

• Overall, 7% of chickens tested positive for campylobacter within the highest band of contamination

• Among the nine retailers with the highest market share, 5% of chickens tested positive for campylobacter within the highest band of contamination

• The percentage of chickens that tested positive for the presence of campylobacter at any level is 56%, down from 66% in 2015 and 78% in 2014

Health outcomes and determinants by occupation in Scotland report published On 23 February, NHS Health Scotland published the report ‘Health outcomes and determinants by occupation and industry in Scotland, 2008–2011’.

The report looks at the importance of paid, secure employment in improving health. It also highlights the independent association between household income, health outcomes, and type of occupation and industry.

Employment is an important factor in determining people’s mental and physical health, both for working-age adults and for children.

This research found that some occupations and industries are associated with consistently better health outcomes and determinants, such as;

• managers

• professionals

• protective service occupations, such as police or fire officers.

Other professions are associated with poorer health outcomes, such as;

• Transport

• Caring

• Process

• Customer service

• Elementary occupations

The research also found that industries that may cause a health disadvantage to their employees include land transport, hotels and restaurants, food and beverage manufacturing, and construction. While, industries that may give some health advantage to their workforce include extraction of petroleum and natural gas, education and financial services.

There is a gendered dimension as well. In particular, current or previous employment in professional/managerial occupations does not appear to protect working-age women’s mental health (as it does for men); while for women, household income is relatively more important in (creating) good health.

The report can be accessed here.

East Lothian Council: Musselburgh Air Quality Action Plan
East Lothian Council has approved the Musselburgh Air Quality Action Plan on 14 February. This was proposed by the Environmental Health Service, working collaboratively with consultants Ricardo Energy & Environment and many other Services within the Council.

The Action Plan has been described as an organic document that will evolve as information and other situations that impact on Musselburgh develop, particularly in relation to the Local Development Plan. Further feasibility studies are being carried out for a number of traffic management schemes in the Musselburgh area. The studies consist of both traffic modelling and air dispersion modelling which will help inform which schemes to adopt. The Plan will be under constant review and monitoring.

There has been a downward trend in nitrogen dioxide concentrations in the last five years which may be, in part, as a result of measures already implemented by East Lothian Council such as the Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique (SCOOT) traffic system and work with the vehicle emissions partnership. The additional measures proposed within the Action Plan are likely to decrease nitrogen dioxide concentrations further. A total of 13 measures have been identified and assessed for taking forward at this stage.

Overall, there was consensus from the public consultation that the proposed measures would have a positive impact on air quality, with more radical interventions suggested and deemed necessary. With road traffic being the main source of air pollution within the Air Quality Management Area (AQMA), a number of traffic management scenarios have been, and continue to be, explored.

At the onset of the action planning process, it was appropriate to consider all potential measures available to East Lothian Council and other stakeholders to improve air quality. The identification of measures was undertaken through a review of existing local and regional plans and guidance documents. Whilst the Council may not have the necessary powers to implement all measures listed, we can work with organisations and agencies that have the capacity to take these measures forward, such as the use of longer trains to encourage greater uptake of commuter rail travel.

In terms of the 13 measures proposed, firstly there are strategic measures, where this Plan supports and considers existing or forthcoming transport and development plans, and vice versa. The integration of the Action Plan along with the local transport strategy and local development plan is essential, representing a strategic and integrated approach to local air quality management.

Improving signage to raise awareness of the AQMA may sound tokenistic but is envisaged to encourage behavioural change, for example reduce vehicle idling, promote traffic away from the High Street, and park considerately to minimise obstruction. Bringing the issue to the fore can engender change. Hand in hand with the awareness is the proposed enforcement of idling parked vehicles to reduce emissions.

Establishing the ECO Stars Fleet Recognition Scheme (subsequently launched on 15 February) within the Council area provides recognition for best operational practices and guidance for making improvements to fleet operators, with the ultimate aim of reducing fuel consumption and reduced emissions, having a positive impact within the AQMA.

East Lothian Council currently works in partnership with Midlothian, West Lothian and Falkirk Councils as the East Central Scotland Vehicle Emissions Partnership. As well as raising awareness of vehicle emissions and the impacts on air quality amongst the public of East Lothian as a whole, the Partnership will be utilised more directly towards Musselburgh High Street in the next financial year.

The Council will provide information and undertake marketing initiatives targeting increasing the public’s awareness of air pollution issues within the Council area and encourage the public to participate in improving the situation. This is intrinsically linked to the promotion of cycling and walking and the development of travel plans.

Traffic has been phased through use of traffic signals to facilitate smooth flow of traffic along the High Street. SCOOT was implemented in Musselburgh High Street with synchronised fixed time signals in order to address peak hour congestion and queuing at key junctions.

There are currently four bus stops located within the AQMA. The large number of buses passing through the High Street results in congestion at the current bus stops. It is proposed to consider adding stops in an attempt to relieve congestion, with the buses being split between the additional stops.

Improving public transport links is one measure that can encourage better travel choices for commuters. It is proposed to increase the capacity of trains and platforms at Musselburgh train station. This intervention may have a positive impact on traffic volumes moving through the High Street.

Lothian Buses will begin using hybrid single decker buses in mid to late 2017 that switch to electric operation automatically within the Edinburgh and Musselburgh AQMAs. In order to facilitate this, an electric charging facility in Musselburgh is proposed to be installed.

These measures listed for inclusion have been assessed against a wide range of criteria in order to ascertain their suitability for inclusion and prioritisation. The criteria against which they were assessed were:
• Potential air quality impact
• Implementation costs
• Cost effectiveness
• Potential co-environmental benefits, risk factors, social impacts and economic impacts
• Feasibility and acceptability

The Action Plan has been developed in recognition of the legal requirement on the local authority to work towards air quality objectives. The Plan focuses on effective, feasible, proportionate and quantifiable measures aimed at further reducing concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in Musselburgh High Street.

Derek Oliver, Service Manager – Environmental Health

East Lothian Council: Policy on Balloon and Chinese/Sky Lantern Releases
The impressive visual impact of balloons and sky lanterns being released into the sky may last a few minutes, but the impact upon the environment and wildlife can last many months, with potentially harmful consequences. Due to this, East Lothian Council has recently had a new policy approved prohibiting balloon and lantern releases at events.
This is not a prevention of fun policy or policy to ban the sale of balloons. This policy is about protecting the environment, agricultural land, scenery, livestock and wildlife of firstly East Lothian but also, consequently, Scotland as a whole.
The Policy focuses on events being organised or held on Council land and any event supported, endorsed or requiring a licence, including those on private land. It will be included in the terms and conditions of leases, hires and licences.
The term “release” has been defined to exclude an accidental release by a child or adult, where one might be let go at a fete or funfair. It doesn’t stop the sale of balloons, balloon displays or fancy balloon features at charity events.
The policy stipulates the intentional act of releasing balloons or lanterns into the general environment and seeks to prohibit mass releases, where that one moment of pleasure can have harmful consequences down the line.
The release of balloons and lanterns could be viewed as littering under the Environmental Protection Act, which makes it an offence to deposit litter in public places. However statutory interpretation would suggest that this only occurs where the balloon or lantern falls. Only at this point can it be classed as litter. Tracing the perpetrator is obviously difficult at this time. What is certain is that it is the responsibility of the local authority to ensure that public places remain free from litter and as such, East Lothian Council is fulfilling its statutory duties through the development of this policy on intentional balloon and lantern releases.
As an example, latex balloons can rise to a height of five miles before undergoing brittle fracture. The pieces of balloon then fall back down but 5-10% do not burst, and float back down whole and partially deflated.
Balloon pieces or whole balloons can cause entanglement and choking in livestock and wildlife, as well as requiring resources from local authorities to tidy their public spaces free from litter.
Chinese or sky lanterns pose similar threats to livestock and wildlife as balloons and the coastguard have received false callouts from their use. Lanterns also pose a fire hazard to dry standing crops, stacks of hay or straw, forestry and farm buildings and thatched cottages.

A number of organisations have pushed and supported the Council policies on balloon and lanterns releases, such as the RNLI, NFUS, Keep Scotland Tidy, RSPB and the Marine Conservation Society. Corporate businesses and organisations no longer support or use balloon releases at events, including Barclays, Marks & Spencer, Sainsburys , Norwich Union, to name but a few. In addition, a number of charities are also following suit.
In December, Fife and Inverclyde Councils joined eight other Scottish local authorities in banning the intentional release of balloons and/or lanterns under similar policies.
In terms of local public perception of this policy, I received a letter from a ten year old school girl from Tranent just before Christmas outlining how balloon releases can affect marine and wild life. She outlined how balloons or their pieces are mistaken for jellyfish and eaten, and how strings strangle.
She then asked what the Council’s policy is for balloon releases. Her last paragraph reads:
“East Lothian has an abundance of beautiful coastlines and a variety of important wildlife. I hope that the Council are doing all they can to preserve this. A big and extremely helpful step towards this is to ban balloon releases.”
Times change and I hope we are nearing the end of the fashionable mass release of balloons and lanterns. However, I fear there is some time left before the public are fully aware of the dangers such releases bring. We have an opportunity to implement a policy that helps minimise the impact of intentional releases, whilst also saving resource in clean up.
In implementing the policy, we seek to raise awareness of environmental consequences and promote alternatives. With this message, to those events that we cannot directly influence, we hope that this awareness fosters change and a realisation that intentionally releasing balloons and lanterns in East Lothian is not acceptable.
This is not a kill-joy policy but a policy where joy doesn’t have to kill and I am delighted that the Cabinet of East Lothian Council approved the Policy:
All balloon and lantern releases on Council owned land and property; and at events licensed, endorsed or supported by the Council, including those on non-Council land, are prohibited.
East Lothian Council will raise awareness of environmental consequences of balloon and Chinese/sky lantern releases and promote alternatives.
It is the responsibility of all Services to comply with and implement this policy as appropriate to their Service.
It is hoped that publicising the policy and promoting alternatives will also lead to a reduction in smaller scale private releases, as the public become more aware of the dangers they pose.

Derek Oliver, Service Manager – Environmental Health

A guidance document for trampoline park operators has been published by the BSI. The guidance specifies requirements for the construction of indoor trampoline parks that are made up of interconnected trampolines being used for non-competitive leisure activities.

The guidance is aimed for trampoline park operators, designers, manufacturers and installers and also for safety inspections and enforcement bodies such as the Health & Safety Executive, Environmental Health Officers, RoSPA and other third party auditors

Trampoline parks are an expanding industry in the UK but are well established in the US and Far East. By Easter 2017, the International Association of Trampoline Parks UK estimates there will be 150 parks in operation across the UK, with at least 15million visitors per year.

It would be fair to say their appearance in the UK has generated some consternation amongst local authority health and safety regulators as injuries to park users appear to feature prominently. It was reported by BBC 5 live's Daily Programme show that ambulances were called to trampoline parks in the UK more than 300 times in a year. Therefore, this guidance is very much welcomed by the industry.

The guidance document was been created by the trampoline industry under the auspices of the BSI along with contributions from environmental health officers to help minimise the risk to park users. The guidance can be found here.

Community Training – New Course – Introduction to Food and Health Course

The REHIS Introduction to Food and Health is a 3 hour non-examined course that aims to provide participants with a basic knowledge and understanding of healthy eating, nutrition and health.

As well as gaining an understanding of the importance of a healthy diet for health and wellbeing, the main food groups and nutrients and key healthy eating guidelines, participants will be able to use the Eatwell Guide and the information on a food label to make informed food choices.

It would be suitable for anyone who requires some basic knowledge of nutrition; such as those working or volunteering in the catering, education, hospitality and leisure, community, health and social care sectors, or those who wish to know more about healthier eating for themselves or their family.

View or download the syllabus here Introduction to Food & Health Course Syllabus

This course is available through REHIS Community Training Food and Health approved training centres.

Former owner of Hong Restaurant in Pumpherston, Mr Pui Lung Wan (also known as Colin Wan) received a Prohibition Order at Livingston Sheriff Court on 9 February 2017, following a report by West Lothian Council's Environmental Health team regarding food safety failures at the business.

The case followed a visit to the premises on 24 August 2015 by officers to carry out a routine food safety inspection. The condition of the premises and food safety practices were a concern and officers had to take action to stop food being prepared through serving a remedial action notice. Officers were concerned regarding the poor standards of cleaning throughout the premises, the poor handling of food and risks of contamination, and the staff working without supervision or suitable food safety training. The business changed ownership between the time of the offences and the court hearing.

Following the court order being issued a press release was picked up by a number of news outlets, and the council put the article, including some photographs of conditions at the time of inspection, on the corporate Facebook page. The articles highlighted the issues subject to court action, but also indicated that the business remained improvement required in terms of the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS). There was a substantial response to the information provided, from the current owners, their regular customers and the public at large. The Facebook article was viewed over 100,000 times, received over 820 comments, and over 240 shares. These were an interesting reflection of public concern and awareness of food safety. There were many interesting and colourful comments.

Many people picked up that the business was under new management, but not that it was still improvement required in terms of FHIS. Some of these reflected positions of not caring either way as they just liked the food. For most however the story produced a response of disgust at the conditions. It was also interesting to see that on the restaurant’s own Facebook page people had picked up on the story and were willing to offer their thoughts. It is hoped that the business will realise the consequences of this type of publicity. In terms of the court action itself, this highlighted a further frustration in the current legal process.

This business had a poor track record, and Mr Wan had previously been reported to the Procurator Fiscal (PF) for prosecution. However, the PF held that no case would be pursued at that time. The poor performance continued, and a further report had to be submitted. The purpose of the reports was to ensure a successful outcome and seek the prohibition of a food business operator who is clearly unwilling or unable to operate safely.

Thankfully in this case the Sheriff recognised the importance of food safety and agreed to serve the Prohibition Order on Mr Wan. West Lothian Council has seen a significant reduction in the number of cases they have reported to the PF for food safety in recent years. This has been assisted by the appropriate use of remedial action notices, introduction of FHIS and also by improving standards in many businesses. However, there remains a small percentage of premises where prosecution has to be pursued for the primary objective of prohibition. Doing this is time consuming for officers, and is further frustrated by the slow progress through the courts and legal system.

Craig Smith, Environmental Health Manager, West Lothian Council

The European Commission has sent a final warning to the UK for failing to address its repeated breaches of air pollution limits for nitrogen dioxide. The warning is in the form of a ‘reasoned opinion’, which is the final stage of the EU infringement procedure before referring a failure to comply with EU law to the European Court of Justice.

The Commission has warned the UK that ‘If Member States fail to act within two months the Commission may decide to take the matter to the Court of Justice of the EU.’ Once before the court the Commission can call for penalties to be imposed. Fines could be up to £1.5bn. Fines can either be daily payments or in the form of a lump sum. This gives the UK two months to outline its plans to the EU. If the Commission is unsatisfied with the response it can elevate the infringement, although this process could take years. The UK has 43 Air Quality Zones for assessing air quality and reporting compliance for a number of targets to the EU. 16 of these are in breach of EU Directive 2008/50/EC which sets air pollution limits including nitrogen dioxide. These include London, Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow.

The Commission states that while each member state can choose its own measures to address NO2 exceedances, they should consider addressing traffic volume, fuel types, converting to electric vehicles and driving behaviour. Diesel vehicles should be addressed to achieve EU compliance. The UK is one of five countries to have received a ‘reasoned opinion’ over air quality breaches. Germany has suffered persistent NO2 breaches in 28 air quality zones, France in 19, Italy in 12 and Spain in three. In addition to the warning about the 2008 directive the Commission has sent the UK government a ‘letter of formal notice’ relating to braches of the 2014 directive on alternative fuels infrastructure and a 2015 directive on air quality monitoring. This is the first stage of the EU infringement procedure.

Research by the consumer campaign group Which? has revealed that hundreds of hotels across the UK, including those with four and five star ratings, are failing basic food hygiene standards.

The research published this week reveals that 652 UK hotels including B&Bs and guest houses received an ‘improvement required’ or a food hygiene rating score of two or below under the English rating system. Poor hygiene standards were not limited to the bottom end of the market with hotel’s sporting two rosettes and four and five stars failing to meet adequate levels of food safety. Specifically, four-star Dean Court Hotel in York, part of the Best Western Premier Collection holds two AA rosettes, but hygiene inspectors found its kitchens in need of ‘major improvement’, awarding a rating of just ‘1’. London’s five-star Royal Horseguards hotel also has two AA Rosettes but a hygiene rating of just two. Which? presented these results to the hotels. Best Western blamed the score at Dean Court Hotel in York on ‘a previous chef’s administrative oversight and clerical error’. While Guoman Hotels, owner of The Royal Horseguards, told Which? that ‘a new senior management team immediately took action to improve standards’. Both businesses are currently awaiting re-inspection.

Researchers also found that some hotels were choosing not to display their ratings either on site or on line. Which? now supports the mandatory display of ratings for hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses across the UK, not only outside premises, but also on their websites.

While display of ratings is not required in Scotland and England it has been mandatory in Wales since 2013 and in Northern Ireland since October 2017.

A programme and booking form are now available for the annual forum.

Click on the link for more information,the programme and booking form.

ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH FORUM ‘Building Better Futures’