Olympian feat to safeguard public health

Neil Parish, MP for Tiverton and Honiton, hosted a Parliamentary event held during national Food Safety Week, along with The Food Standards Agency.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been working with partners since as far back as 2008 to develop and enforce food safety regulations which will help keep the public safe at this summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Preparations include grants to 35 local authorities in Olympic ‘host’ boroughs to improve business compliance; an extra 16,000 inspections of food businesses in the run-up to the Games and one-to-one food safety coaching for around 2,000 businesses within Olympic host boroughs and Live Sites.

Separately, as part of efforts to crackdown on illegal and non-compliant food, three depots will be used for LAs to store food and mobile food vans and equipment seized during the sporting event.

A series of exercises’ have been staged to firm up the Agency’s emergency response and contingency plans in the unlikely event of a high-level crisis.

Here Neil Parish is pictured crossing the Olympic finishing line with Team FSA at the Parliamentary event on the 12th June.

Neil Parish said: ‘Food safety is a very important issue and the UK has an Olympian task ahead in demonstrating we are world leaders when it comes to protecting public health in relation to food’.

The FSA’s ‘Play it Safe’ campaign highlights how businesses should prepare for the Games, with useful tips for visitors on how to eat safely during the Olympics. For further information go to www.food.gov.uk/olympics or follow on Twitter at @playitsafefood.