Author: Peacock Carter

Michael Matheson MSP, Scotland’s Minister for Public Health, addressed the last day of the REHIS Annual Conference in Edinburgh yesterday. The Minister’s address was supportive of the work of the Institute and of the contribution that Environmental Health Officers make to the protection and improvement of public health in Scotland. Mr Matheson also welcomed the Institute’s ongoing review of the education, training and qualification of Environmental Health Officers in Scotland. A full transcript of the Minister’s address and a report on the conference will appear in the summer edition of Environmental health Scotland the Institute’s quarterly Journal. The Institute thanks all who participated in the conference including the speakers, session chairmen, delegates, guests and sponsors for making the conference such a success. Lastly, we thank Rory Archibald and his team at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for all their support in what is one of the most unique conference venues to have staged the REHIS Annual Conference.

Lord Jeff Rooker, Chair of the Board of the Food Standards Agency, will address the REHIS Annual Conference on the afternoon of Wednesday 18 April. Lord Rooker ‘s address will, in the main, cover the Agency’s Review of Official Controls Delivery in the UK.

REHIS Introductory, Elementary and the Intermediate Food Hygiene Courses by e learning are now available.

REHIS accredited e learning packs are now available for food handlers wishing to gain a nationally recognised qualification. Successful candidates are awarded the relevant nationally recognised certificate.

If you are interested in finding out more about REHIS e learning Food Hygiene qualifications contact us at contact@ or on 0131 229 2968.

The Scottish Government has published the Scudamore review of future arrangements to secure food standards and safety in Scotland. The report is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/04/6141/0 .

The report makes recommendations on the operation of the Food Standards Agency in Scotland and for the operation of the meat hygiene function.

REHIS welcomes the publication of the report and thanks Professor Scudamore and his panel for the opportunity to present evidence during their study. We look forward to learning how Scottish Ministers intend to progress the Report’s recommendations and hope to be able engage in this process.

REHIS has launched ‘An Environmental Health Manifesto for Scotland’ with the aim of attracting political support for the Environmental Health Profession and Service and of promoting the Profession and Service to the general public. The full manifesto document and the two page flyer can be downloaded from this website.

Edinburgh Castle has been chosen as the prestigious venue for the presentation ceremony of the Scottish Green Apple Environment Awards, supported by the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland.

Free entries for the awards close on April 30, and applications are invited from any company, council or community in Scotland that is trying to help the environment.

Entry forms and full information can be found at www.thegreenorganisation.info

For more information see the April e newsletter at https:/sites/default/files/april_2012_newsletter.pdf 

‘Protecting the Public in the Environments in which they Live, Work and Travel’

18th & 19th April 2012

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

The REHIS Annual Conference is the principal Environmental Health event to take place in Scotland. It provides an opportunity to reflect on current and future approaches to protecting and improving the health of the Scottish people and to renew friendships and make new ones. This year’s Conference is being held in Edinburgh and I look forward to welcoming you. The conference flyer is available at the link below. The full programme and a booking form are attached.

Paul Bradley, President

The March 2012 edition of the REHIS e-Newsletter ‘News for Public Health Professionals’ has been uploaded to this website and is accessible from a dedicated public access portal to the right of this news item.

If you wish to feature any Environmental Health or Public Health initiative, event or activity in the REHIS Newsletter, please contact Jim Thomson, Policy/Professional Development Officer, The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland, 19 Torphichen Street, Edinburgh, tel: 0131 229 2968 or jt@

The Africa Academy for Environmental Health continued in its objective to advance the science and practice of environmental health in Africa last week when it hosted 13 women from 7 countries at a workshop in Blantyre, Malawi.The AWEHN has now established an electronic network for all female academics and practitioners to collaborate and share experiences. It is accessible on http://aaeh-network.ning.com/group/african-womenenvironmental-health-network-awehn

See the attached press release for more information.

On the 22^nd November the FSA in Scotland launched a food safety awareness campaign focusing on the safe handling of vegetables. The campaign follows the E.Coli outbreak reported in the UK earlier this year, which was associated with the consumption of various types of vegetables.  These outbreaks highlighted the need to alert consumers to food safety practices associated with the storage, preparation and general handling of raw vegetables and of root vegetables in particular.

For details see http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2011/nov/vegcampaign

Health Protection Scotland has also just published a Current Note in Weekly Report (see page 2 at http://www.documents.hps.scot.nhs.uk/ewr/pdf2011/1147.pdf) in order to share the FSA campaign details with the wider Environmental Health and Public Health community in Scotland.

 See the attached document for more information and  tips on storage, preparation and general handling of raw vegetables and of root vegetables in particular.

REHIS presented its annual free to members Environmental Health Update event in Edinburgh on the morning of Friday 18 November. Four excellent speakers presented papers on the Regulation of Scotland’s Tattooing and Cosmetic Body Piercing Industry; The Scottish Diet, nutrition and health claims’; Garra Rufa and Emerging Issues in the Beauty Industry; and Infestations of Bedbugs and Cockroaches. The presentations can now be downloaded from the REHIS website. 

The programme and the presentations are attached below.

The Institute’s AGM also took place at 2pm at the same venue and members. Thanks to these members that attended.