08/07/2009 - Inspectors plan unannounced visits
Food businesses in Wales will be subject to surprise inspections following an inquiry into the 2005 E.coli outbreak which resulted in the death of a five-year-old boy, First Minister Rhodri Morgan has said.
Mason Jones, from Deri, near Caerphilly, died and more than 150 people fell ill when the outbreak spread through schools in the South Wales valleys.
According to the findings of a public inquiry in March, the food safety regulations in force at the time should have been sufficient.
William Tudor, the butcher who supplied infected meat, was blamed for the E.coli 0157 outbreak - the second largest in the UK`s history.
Microbiologist Professor Hugh Pennington, chairman of the inquiry, said that Mr Tudor failed to ensure critical procedures, such as cleaning and separating raw and cooked meat, were carried out effectively.
Responding to the inquiry's report, which made 24 recommendations, Mr Morgan said that firms will not be warned in advance of inspectors' visits unless there is a reason for an appointment, for example to see the proprietor.
He told AMs in the Senedd that training for inspectors and their managers was being re-evaluated to make it more comprehensive in order to "help them develop a sixth sense of what is potentially catastrophic".
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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