Food sampling
National microbiological food studies carried out by the Health Protection Agency and the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) and the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) implement a national programme of co-ordinated food studies in partnership with local authorities and local authority food liaison groups. The programme focuses on foods of concern associated with: food production; the food service sector; and retail foods that are identified by environmental health officers and HPA public health microbiologists. These studies provide national data on the microbiological safety of ready-to-eat food and also on raw food samples examined within the UK. These studies also create national information on important areas where there may be a specific risk, such as butcher shop hygiene, salad vegetables, shell eggs, and spices. The purpose of food surveillance studies is also to develop ways of targeting specific food hygiene problems and investigating ways of monitoring and improvement.
The Microbiological Food Sampling Programme is currently conducting a number of studies, details of which can be found at the links below.
Recent Updates
- 1 July 2009:
LACORS/HPA Co-ordinated Food Liaison Group Studies: Assessment of the Microbiological Safety of Edible Nut Kernels on Retail Sale in the UK with a focus on Salmonella spp (PDF, 557 KB) - 18 June 2009: LACORS/HPA Co-ordinated Food Liaison Group Studies: Microbiological Study on Salmonella Contamination of Pooled Raw Shelled Egg Mix and Environmental Samples from Catering Establishments (PDF, 840 KB)
- 05 March 2009: LACORS/HPA Co-ordinated Food Liaison Group Studies: Microbiological Quality of Salad Vegetables and Sauces from Kebab Take-away Restaurants (PDF, 324 KB)
- 25 February 2009: LACORS/HPA Co-ordinated Food Liaison Group Studies: An assessment of the microbiological safety of ready-to-eat dried seeds from retail premises in the United Kingdom with a focus on Salmonella spp (PDF, 282 KB)
- 13 February 2009: LACORS/HPA Report on Mobile Food Vendors (PDF, 229 KB)
- 24 November 2008: LACORS/HPA Co-ordinated Food Liaison Group Studies: Microbiological Assessment of Fresh Herbs from Retail Premises in the United Kingdom Uncovers an International Outbreak of Salmonellosis (PDF, 186 KB)
Some useful links
Health Protection Agency Regional Microbiology Network, Food, water and Environmental Laboratories
http://www.hpa.org.uk/web/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1195733740389
Summary of National Microbiological Studies carried out by LACORS and the Health Protection Agency in partnership with local authoritiess/food liaison groups
http://www.lacors.gov.uk/lacors/ContentDetails.aspx?id=3512