FSA launches Food Safety Squad for London 2012 Olympic Games

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has appointed a taskforce as a part of its Play It Safe campaign to focus on food safety in the run up to and during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Food Safety Squad features ten top food safety inspectors from around the country who will conduct extra inspections of food outlets to ensure all food sold, cooked and eaten during the Games is safe.

The squad will work in towns and cities hosting Olympic or Paralympic events or Live sites (venues with big screens where events will be shown live), and will also keep visitors informed about the food safety measures taken up.

According to the FSA, the squad represents hundreds of environmental health officers around the country, carrying out extra hygiene inspections on food businesses.

The FSA’s Play It Safe campaign seeks to raise awareness of food safety among businesses and visitors before and during the games. The campaign will focus on areas and outlets where a high influx of visitors is expected.

Food businesses that fail to make the grade during the inspections will be given one-to-one training to ensure that they follow food hygiene regulations, and those that still fail to comply will be subject to stringent actions.

Food Standards Agency head of enforcement and local authority delivery Sarah Appleby said that UK has fantastic food to showcase to Games visitors, and the agency wants food business owners to ensure that everything they sell is the best it can be.

"It will be an exceptionally busy time for a lot of these businesses, and the FSA is providing extra support and advice to make sure they are well prepared to meet the challenge," Appleby added.

In addition to the Play It Safe campaign, the FSA is also implementing a number of measures to minimise the risk of food safety incidents.

These include training local authorities in Olympic areas on food safety, coaching programme for small businesses in Olympic areas on food safety aspects, and providing extra equipment for sampling and checks to enforcement authorities.

 

Image: Ten top food safety inspectors will conduct inspections of food outlets to ensure all food sold, cooked and eaten during the London 2012 Games is safe.Photo: ODA