Take-away food investigation

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33625, 29 August 1974, Page 14

Take-away food investigation

A bacteriological survey of food from take-away bars will be undertaken by the Department of Health in Christchurch as a result of complaints made to the department and because of disturbing reports from overseas.

The supervising inspector of health (Mr C. H. Edwards) said the department had received complaints of what appeared to be food poisoning caused by food from take-away bars. The number of complaints had increased recently, but

this could be because the number of take-away bars had increased, said Mr Edwards.

The Chief City Health Inspector (Mr A. P. Millthorpe) said that it would be wise to do a check of food bars in Christchurch in the light of overseas reports. Council health inspectors had received complaints about food poisoning, but take-away bars had rarely been found responsible. Usually the cause was in the home, said Mr Millthorpe.

The Press Association reported that in Dunedin prosecutions had been brought for a wide assortment of objects found in food. They included mould growth in a salad roll, metal pieces in bread, cockroaches in pies, biscuits, doughnuts and hotdogs, rodent droppings in a crumbed cutlet, and bird droppings in cereals.

A study of bacterial contamination in food had just begun at Wakari Hospital under the auspices of the Department of Health.