Third of kitchen staff do not wash
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.One third of kitchen workers do not wash their hands after using the lavatory – and more than half do not bother before they handle food, according to a survey published by the Food Standards Agency.
The poll of 1,000 workers and managers in restaurants, hotels, take-aways and pubs revealed a wide ignorance of food handling rules.
Less than two thirds of employees had a certificate in basic food hygiene, yet just 3 per cent of bosses understood the importance of training staff.
The survey of catering is part of a five-year £20m campaign by the agency to reduce the number of food poisoning cases by 20 per cent by 2006.
Last year, 5.5 million people said they became ill from something they ate, with two thirds blaming it on food made outside the home, the agency reported.
Although 64 per cent of those surveyed said they knew the importance of washing their hands, 39 per cent still neglected to do so after visiting the lavatory and 53 per cent admitted not cleaning their hands before preparing food. Among managers, 32 per cent said they thought good food hygiene was important but 64 per cent believed good food was the key to keeping customers.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments