Councils committed to learning lessons from E.coli outbreak
19 March 2009
Every council in Wales is fully committed to learning the lessons from the E.coli Outbreak during 2005 and will give proper consideration to the findings and recommendations published by Professor Pennington earlier today. The WLGA is also working with LACORS and the LGA to make sure that good practice and the lessons learned in Wales are shared with all councils across the UK.
WLGA Chief Executive, Steve Thomas said:
“We welcome the findings of today’s report and deeply regret the circumstances surrounding this outbreak. Every council in Wales is committed to learning the lessons from the E.coli outbreak. Since 2005, local authorities have been active in reviewing and improving their systems and processes and are sharing these improvements across the wider public sector. We are pleased that Professor Pennington has recognised these improvements today.”
Cllr Keith Evans (Ceredigion), WLGA Regulatory Spokesperson and LACORS Vice Chair added:
“Ensuring food safety is of paramount importance to councils. The public can feel assured that every council is committed to using today’s report as a platform for ensuring further improvements and minimising risk. As emphasised by Professor Pennington today, the ultimate responsibility for ensuring food safety lies with the supplier.”
A full report and executive of the Inquiry are available on the Inquiry’s website: www.ecoliinquirywales.org
Ends
Notes
1. The WLGA is the representative body for the 22 council in Wales. The three combined Fire Authorities, three National Park Authorities and the four Police authorities are also associate members of the WLGA.
2. LACORS (the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services) is the local government central body responsible for overseeing local authority regulatory and related services. Regulatory services is the name given to a group of services which exist to ensure public, consumer, environmental and worker protection. These range from protecting consumers against illegal doorstop selling to checking hygiene standards in restaurants and food factories.