Outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, such as E coli, will increase in the UK unless urgent action is taken to tackle severe shortages of environmental health officers, a body representing the profession has said.
The warning comes after more than 100 E coli cases were reported in a fortnight, having spread via food distributed across Britain.
Earlier this year the Guardian reported that the public was increasingly facing food-related “Russian roulette”, with hospital admissions for three common illnesses linked to food poisoning reaching their highest level in decades.
Admissions for salmonella infections reached 1,468 in England between April 2022 and March 2023, NHS data shows, a rate of three admissions for every 100,000 people, an all-time high.
Louise Hosking, the executive director of environmental health at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH), said: “Environmental health professionals are the unsung heroes of public health. They are our first line of defence against foodborne illnesses.”
She said the recent outbreak “underscores the critical role” they play in making sure food is safe, and protecting the public. “Without sufficient staffing and resources, our ability to prevent such outbreaks is severely compromised.”
Hosking called for “urgent action to address the workforce shortages and capacity challenges facing our profession”, adding that the workforce was essential to preventing future public health crises”.
Environmental health practitioners (EHPs) conduct regular inspections of food establishments to ensure compliance with hygiene and safety standards. They assess hygiene practices, food storage conditions, and cooking methods to ensure compliance with health regulations, identifying any potential contamination sources in the process.
They will investigate the recent E coli outbreak, interviewing members of the public and visiting premises implicated in the outbreak.
The 113 cases of E coli across the UK since 25 May have been described as being part of a single outbreak, which is most likely linked to a “nationally distributed food item or multiple food items” due to the wide geographic spread of cases, according to the agency.
So far there have been 81 cases in England, 18 in Wales, 13 in Scotland, and one person in Northern Ireland who believes they contracted the illness in England.
E coli is a vast group of bacteria, with some strains producing toxins that can make people severely ill. Symptoms include bloody diarrhoea, stomach cramps and a high fever.
In January the Food Standards Agency (FSA) expressed concern that local authorities (LAs) did not have the resources to provide food controls.
In its local authority capacity and capability research paper, published last year, the FSA said: “Evidence suggests that local authorities are experiencing significant issues around the recruitment and retention of suitably or appropriately qualified and competent staff to undertake official controls and related activities.”
The report noted: “Intelligence obtained in November 2020 from national groups representing LAs undertaking food hygiene and food standards official controls in England, Wales and Northern Ireland suggested that over 50% of LAs had challenges recruiting suitably or appropriately qualified staff. Use of contractor staff has also increased.”
