Takeaway Terrors Food Inspectors

Wanted! Men and women with a passion for food,

an unhealthy interest in bugs and a strong stomach.

And why do we need them? Well, there is an alarming amount of food poisoning in the UK,

affecting nearly a million people every year.

That's nearly 20,000 of us every week.

Yes, there are ways you can protect yourself,

but, for everything else, you need the Food Inspectors.

Throughout this series, we're with them as they leave no cupboard unopened.

Those are mouse droppings again.

And no shelf unchecked.

You're selling fake wine to the public.

-We'll be there as they take on the businesses that flout the rules.

-They never have a good word for you.

And we'll be revealing the invisible risks you run

every time you eat out.

You're exposing your customers to get food poisoning.

This week, the terror of the night-time takeaway.

When you're drunk, I could put anything in my mouth and not even think about it.

They could give customers food poisoning.

And lunch at the local, but unwanted guests in the kitchen.

Oh, look, you've got insect legs in there.

A trip to the country causes a boot sale bust-up.

Lou, pack. We're off here and you can go to hell.

I'll be looking at why we're all so scared of salmonella.

It's probably the most common bacteria

associated with food poisoning.

And you may not be able to see what's on your hands

before eating, but we can.

You could see these from space.

Look at that.

You wouldn't touch that in the daytime, and yet somehow, magically,

after last orders, that becomes very attractive.

It's a high-risk food, officially, and, in tests,

one in five kebab shops have been demonstrated to pose a risk to your health.

One in five - that's worse than Russian roulette.

The only thing I'd eat at 2am is a doner kebab - it's probably the only thing that's open.

When drunk, I could put anything in my mouth and not think about it.

Pizza, burger, whatever - I don't really care.

Anything that will absorb the alcohol, and if you're not sick, it's a bonus.

So it's clear. When we're boozed up, our guard comes down,

and food hygiene stops being our main concern.

I'm teaming up with a man whose duty and pleasure it is to keep us safe from the terrors of takeaways.

Why is it there if you're telling me it's not going to be sold?

Why haven't you thrown it away? It's not ideal.

How do you know what temperature that chicken is at?

Steve's Southend seaside patch gets 6 million visitors every year.

That's a lot of mouths to feed and a lot of places to inspect.

Fish and chip shops, kebab shops, Chinese, Indian.

And with over 40 years in the business, Steve knows that

if you want to keep the public safe, you can't keep office hours.

If food business operators thought that we only came out

between 9am and 5pm, there's a tendency that some of them

might think they might get away with things at other times,

so we have to get out at a variety of times,

and Saturday night is one of them.

In you go.

Steve carries out unannounced spot checks on the food joints, and the first place on this list

is this pizza restaurant slap bang in the middle of the seafront.

Hello, Steve Ramm from Southend Borough Council. I'm doing a re-visit today.

When this place was last inspected, it didn't do very well

on the borough's hygiene rating scheme. In fact, it got a zero.

The owner was told to make improvements.

What temperature does meat have to reach

when you cook it to make sure that it's safe?

Brown. Change colour...

-The early signs aren't good.

-What temperature does that have to be...

The way these pizza ingredients have been left at room temperature

alerts Steve to a potential health risk for customers.

What concerns me with these meats especially

is that when they're at this 20 degrees,

it's either barely refrigerated...

This is going to grow bacteria - it can form toxins. Now, what are toxins?

I'll tell you what they are. Bacteria will eat food, they'll drink water

and they go to the toilet sometimes. Where will they do that?

They're going to do it on this food.

That's toxins, that's stuff that can make people sick

and if it's put into the pizza oven, the bacteria will be killed

by the high temperatures but those toxins - those chemicals -

they are not changed and they could give customers food poisoning.

Even in your home, salami stored at room temperature can produce toxins

which are not killed by cooking, and this can make you very sick.

Think about putting less food in

because the nearer you get to the bottom, the colder it is.

During the last inspection, it seemed the staff had little knowledge

of how to store, cook and prepare food.

The officer that was here six months ago said there was no evidence

-that people had food hygiene training.

-I do have a certificate.

-You have a certificate. Is it handy?

-Yeah, I have it.

You've got it here? Are other staff trained?

-There is two more.

-Yes.

They're going to go to the council for their training, which is... I think it's for one day.

So, this employee says he's completed a food hygiene course.

It's time to put his knowledge to the test.

Your specialist subject starts...

-..now.

-As well as the temperature,

-are there any other safeguards that you have about growing bacteria?

-No.

How many of these things will move out on a daily basis?

We do like... Do you mean today?

What temperature would you look for

to see it's reached a high enough temperature?

-I can't answer that one.

-OK.

The problems identified here six months ago clearly haven't been resolved.

The time for warnings is over.

This is the first legal step towards shutting a place down.

This must be done. In what we call an improvement notice,

it will say that it needs to be done within about six weeks,

two months, right, and we'll come and check it again

and it must be done or there will be consequences, OK?

What do you do? Is there a point where you'd shut this place down, is it that serious?

The difference between notices and letters is the time.

And it will say, if you've not done what I've asked by six weeks, eight weeks from now,

this will automatically go to court.

So, it focuses their mind -

prosecution if they don't do it then comes as the step after that.

Despite the threat of closure, the number of premises

which actually get closed down remains quite small.

Most inspectors would rather work with an establishment

than get the courts involved,

and after the first unannounced visit, most improve.

Just a pity that it takes a warning for them to do it.

Later on, I'm back in Southend, as the people get merrier

and Steve gets tougher.

I can only give you a score of one,

which is not a particularly good score. Don't slip again.

Hello! It's Suffolk, land of village greens,

afternoon teas and country markets,

run by country folk, who have their own way of doing things.

Here, Food Inspectors face a hygiene battle every bit as great

as in the city.

And it's one that these two women are determined to win.

Yes, two of Mid-Suffolk's finest,

Sara Proctor and Caroline Johnson, are off to a boot sale -

not to bag a bargain, but to make sure food on sale is safe to eat.

A lot of people feel that they can produce food at home

and then they just turn up at car boots.

At home, there are different sources of contamination.

They may have pets there, they may have babies there.

Things like that, which would be more specific to home catering.

It's just really to have a look round and see what we can find.

Once a Mecca for people flogging unwanted clothes, books and toys,

it's now a huge market for those selling homemade jams,

pies and cakes - not to mention mushrooms.

So, what would this be? Is this the stuff that's too big maybe to go into the supermarkets, or...?

Yes, they're seconds, but they are organic.

I always say to people, you know, you can eat them just like sweets.

Obviously, we would recommend that you wash them before you eat them.

Got a little bit of compost on.

What many traders don't realise is that once they make food for sale,

their stalls and their kitchens are effectively commercial premises,

which means they can be inspected for hygiene failings.

If you give us your name and address...

-You've made these at home, have you?

-All at home, yes.

And, even in this most traditional corner of England, they must listen to Brussels. They won't like that!

-You're registered with Babergh District Council, are you?

-Have I got to be registered?

Under EU rules, anyone selling food commercially

must register with their local council.

-Hello.

-Morning.

-We're from the Environmental Health Department.

-If you could explain what we've got?

-Mince pies and lemon curd. Banana loaf and cheese straws.

You make the cakes at home, do you?

-I've got my kitchen registered.

-Right, OK.

-Excellent.

Do you put them in a bag or how do you handle them?

We ask customers to put them in a bag. If they're eating them now, we say take it yourself.

Most of the vendors are fine with the new rules but, for some, it's regulation gone mad.

Hello there. Environmental Health Department Food Team.

-So, where do you get your stock from?

-Wholesale.

-Yeah? And the apples are yours, are they?

-My sister's.

-Yeah. Are you registered with your local authority?

-No.

-No.

It's just... I mean it's not a problem, it's just a registration form, you just fill it in.

Local authorities are always a problem. They don't want to come near me. I'll tell you that now.

-Right, OK...

-I don't need the harassment. I'd rather take if off the stall.

It's up to you. As I said, it's free of charge.

-Does that it include these?

-Yeah, it does.

Which regulations are we talking about?

It's an EC regulation 178, which covers...

Fine, I'll look it up, and it's mandatory you're telling me?

-It's free, you register with your local authority.

-This year it is. Next year, what happens?

-It's just a registration.

-Tell me what health risk these are?

-There's no health risk at all...

-Why do I have to register?

This is classed as running a food business.

Forget it. Lou, pack! We're off here. And you can go to hell. Sorry.

They're fresh apples, they were picked last night.

Why do I need the register to sell fresh apples?

Have you ever heard of anybody getting sickness from a fresh apple?

He's not keen on food registration.

If you're storing food in the area, if you're selling food, you need to be registered.

I have a problem because I think we're over regulated,

it's a waste of public money sending officials here.

Are they going to do this to people who sell by the roadside?

Are they trying to restrict the supply of goods to people?

What is the purpose of it?

And, later on, when Sara turns her attention from the country fair

to the country pub, she doesn't fare much better.

I'm disappointed. I really thought it would be a bit tidier, a bit cleaner.

OK, there are hazards to eating out

but you're not always safe eating in either,

especially if you're a bit of a stranger to the kitchen.

10% of university students have never cooked a meal before they leave home.

Many of them don't even know how to boil an egg,

so what do they know about food preparation, and more importantly, hygiene?

We're going to find out.

Tonight, our own food inspector, Ben Milligan,

is joining me at City University.

Students' kitchens!

Oh, this takes me back.

-Hello.

-Right. You're in for a food inspection, OK, gang?

Right, because we've been told

that this is one of the worst, if not worst, kitchens

-of the university.

-Wow!

-Name and shame.

-Yeah.

There are 2.5 million students in the UK

and, according to Government figures, 20% of them get food poisoning each year.

And looking at this, are you surprised?

What we've got here - your eggs in a bowl,

broken eggs in the egg box.

Who broke the eggs?

-I did.

-You did? And did you wash your hands after you broke the eggs?

No.

So, what things did you touch after?

-I touched almost everything here.

-OK.

-OK, so you've touched everything with eggs on your hands?

-Yeah.

-OK.

Most of us crack eggs without thinking about where they've come from and what could be on them.

Even worse, eggs at room temperature are an ideal breeding ground for bacteria.

-Have you got a kitchen towel or...

-Yeah.

OK, so you've got an old towel here. The chances are

the egg will go on there and that will be a nice surface for bacteria to grow on.

-When was this last cleaned?

-A month ago.

Yeah, a month ago! Right, the towels are going straight to the lab

to see what's on them.

Tell us, right, what could be growing on there

and what... how ill these guys could be?

It could be salmonella, e-coli, you don't need many organisms

on that because it'll grow in your intestines

and it'll multiply and then you'll get diarrhoea

and you'll get vomiting for between eight and eight days,

so it's not necessarily how much there is, it's what's on there.

-He's saying just because of a sponge, you can get all of those?

-Yeah, definitely.

Hands up, everyone! Who's worried about dirty dishcloths?

That would be all of you, then, and you're right to worry.

Lab tests show that their towels were infested with bacteria -

100,000 per centimetre -

that's enough to cause a serious stomach upset. But even worse,

the green towel being used to dry pots and pans

tested positive for coliform bacteria

and that's normally found down the toilet.

OK, so hands out, you naughty boys and girls.

Of course, the best way to stop germs spreading

is by regularly washing our hands with soap and water

for at least 20 seconds. Sounds easy but 85% of us

don't do it properly.

-Let's have a look.

-All washed?

-They look good on the surface.

-It looks all right but what you can't see is the problem.

-So, lights out, then?

-Please. OK. Ellie first.

-Yep.

Oh, my goodness!

The white spots show where bacteria tends to cling on to all our hands -

around the fingernails and in between the fingers.

-Urgh, look at your nails.

-Fingers.

David, last and not least.

You can see these from space.

And the rest of you have all got dirty hands as well.

Naughty, naughty.

So, what are Ben's top tips in washing hands?

Well, scrub under your nails

because 20% of us have bacteria there

that can cause vomiting and diarrhoea.

Wash both hands equally - sounds obvious

but right-handed people wash their left more thoroughly, and vice versa.

And remove your jewellery when washing

because it can be a haven for bacteria.

OK, lights up. I'm absolutely shocked.

It's not necessarily the kitchen - it's the people.

I think we're going to order a pizza.

I don't blame you, I don't blame you.

OK, your home and cleaning habits may be better than this,

but there are still a few things we can all learn about kitchen hygiene.

Firstly, antibacterial spray only works

if you clean off surface dirt first.

When wiping those worktops, use disposable paper towels

but, if you do use a dishcloth, make sure you wash regularly

at a high temperature.

And you are pretty much up there on the wanted list for hygiene.

I'm going to give that a C.

-Wouldn't you?

-No.

Yeah, but you're harsh. We want to see an improvement,

because we'd like to see you in a couple of weeks' time -

still alive, yeah?

It's easy to criticise the rules and regulations

that surround food hygiene

but they're there for a reason - to keep us all safe.

In Southend, it's closing time for the pubs and clubs.

As the drinkers come out onto the streets,

the takeaways are gearing up for their busiest period.

To keep this lot safe,

Steve Ramm and I are still checking what's on the menu.

Next in Steve's line of fire is popular burger joint, Doodah's.

Hello. Are you in charge here at the moment?

-Today, yeah.

-Today you are.

I've come here to make a food hygiene inspection. Thank you.

-Vaughn, how long have you been cooking?

-Since I was 16, 17.

Is it about the last person you want to see coming through the door?

I mean, I've dealt with health inspectors quite often,

he's got to do his job, we're trying to do our job.

It wouldn't be on my behalf, would it, to upset a food inspector?

There is a reason why Vaughn wants to impress the food inspector -

Southend is signed up to a nationwide scheme

to rate food hygiene. It's very simple.

Five is good, zero is bad. On the last visit, Vaughn just got a two.

I was pleased to see that you've got Lion brand eggs

because some people go for cheaper eggs

and they're not always as good as they ought to be

in terms of bacteria, such as salmonella.

Lion brand eggs are pretty much a guarantee

that you'll be all right, so I like that.

That's a tip right there. All eggs with Lion branding

have come from hens which have been vaccinated against salmonella.

What temperature are you seeing that the burger will reach

to say that it's cooked enough?

I look for blood, I look for it to be cooked through the middle.

-Yeah, so an the absence of blood...

-And it's turned many a time.

-Right. We do recommend that now again you check with a probe.

-Yeah.

Burgers should be cooked at 75 degrees Centigrade.

Checking temperature is important in keeping food safe, hot or cold.

Now, what are you doing to check that the temperature in here

is always what it ought to be?

We normally keep our fridges round about the 2 mark.

You have it on a mark, OK.

It ought to be written down what temperature you look for

to make sure that the foods in here are at a good temperature.

No written records mean that Steve can't be sure the staff

are sticking to hygiene rules, and that could mean a low score.

The main problem, I think, is the fact that you haven't got

that paperwork that I mentioned, OK?

If you had that, it would answer the questions -

"what temperatures should the refrigerators be?"

Because you haven't got that system,

yeah, I can only give you a score of one,

which is not a particularly good score, so don't let it slip again.

If you can do that, you could ask for a re-scoring visit.

Thank you.

Not the result you were looking for. One star.

Bit disappointing. I was hoping for a few more than that.

The scoring system is supposed to

make people like Vaughn sharpen up their act,

but keen-eyed viewers may have spotted a flaw.

There is nothing in the law to force owners to display their score.

Here's my problem. If someone has got one star,

-they're not forced to put it on the door, so you'll never know.

-True, but the people who make these laws

are thinking of the possibility of making it mandatory, to put it on the door,

but if people can't see a good score, they'll fear the worse.

Until it is law,

you can always check scores

on the council's website before you go out.

Late-night takeaways may be a big cause of food poisoning,

but the granddaddy of bacteria responsible

we're talking salmonella has many ways of getting into our bodies.

Let's talk salmonella. That's what's inside my little Petri dish here.

It's probably the most well known,

the most common bacteria associated with food poisoning.

Do you want a closer look? Let's put it under the microscope.

You can probably see they've got little tails

and that does help them move around.

So, where does it come from?

Well, basically, salmonella lives in the guts of animals

so it can affect meat, dairy and eggs.

But through contact,

it can also contaminate fruit, vegetables and shellfish.

Salmonella food poisoning will give you watery diarrhoea,

stomach cramps, you'll probably vomit a lot

and you'll have a fever, and you'll probably get these symptoms

12 - 48 hours after eating contaminated food.

And here's the best bit it could all last up to ten days.

So can you taste salmonella?

Well, no, because contaminated food doesn't taste any different.

I can tell you that salmonella does like fatty foods,

such as chicken and eggs, and I've got some bad news for you.

You can find salmonella in chocolate.

So how can we avoid salmonella? It's back to those pesky eggs again.

Never crack a raw egg on a bowl containing other foods.

Use a knife to crack the shell. Store eggs below 20 degrees Centigrade,

and to avoid cross-contamination, keep eggs apart from other foods.

Back in Suffolk and food inspector Sara Proctor,

a self-confessed stickler for high standards, is on her way to a country pub.

Not for a game of dominos by the fire, but to check out the kitchen.

With a pub menu, some pubs try to do too much

and they have a lot of variety on the menu

and unless it's well managed, you have the risk of people

keeping food in the fridge too long, handling it badly.

Sara has become a bit of a regular at The Crown lately...

-See what reception we get from him.

-..but for all the wrong reasons.

-Hi, there.

-You all right?

-Yes, fine, thanks. How are you?

Do you want to go into the kitchen and have a chat?

Manager Jon Collis also doubles as the chef.

Over the last two years, his hygiene ratings been dismal,

fluctuating between zero and two.

Sara's been trying to help him improve.

-Keeping on top of the cleaning?

-Yeah.

-Yeah?

Before starting her inspection, Sara has to clean her hands.

Easier said than done.

Just looking for your wash hand basin? Not the easiest to get to?

Not today, no. This is today's dirt on here, so...

Microwaves, as well. I mean, that's mess in there from last time.

What's happening here? That isn't particularly clean.

No, it's only today, my dear,

because they have a wash down every day.

Jon is not only the chief cook,

he's also bottle washer, doing the cleaning as well.

That might explain the ready meals.

-These are going to be defrosted?

-Yes, that's what you asked me to do,

freeze them as soon as I bought them.

-You'll just re-heat those then?

-Yeah, microwave them, yes.

Do you put a date that you freeze them on?

No, I use them fresh, that's the back-up.

Sometimes it is quite handy to put on what date you froze them.

What's this? This is a bit of lasagne.

That's half a child's portion last night. That'll go.

What go out or...? Yeah, there you go.

OK, that's the food.

What about the equipment?

You've got quite a few tins in here and some of them have got flaking bits.

You see, that could be on somebody's food, couldn't it?

You've got risk of foreign body contamination.

Oh, la, la. Foreign body contamination.

I think we might be about to find more evidence of that.

You've got dirt and debris in your...

You need to make sure they are clean.

You've got some... Oh look, this isn't really very good, is it?

You've got insect legs in there, haven't you?

I mean, obviously people are going to eat with these, so...

Dirty cooking equipment and now dead flies in the cutlery.

It's not what Sara was expecting after her last warning.

To be honest, I'm disappointed.

I really thought after the conversations we had,

I really thought it would be a bit tidier, a bit cleaner.

I do feel you've lost your way a little bit.

-Do you not see that?

-Yeah, I think you could be right.

-You want to carry on serving?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Get it clean and then, probably, what we'll do is,

we'll get you to come back in the office

-and we'll have another chat about it.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

It's a gently worded ultimatum.

I would have thought that after the involvement we'd had last time with him,

I thought standards would have improved

and I think they've gone the wrong way.

The cutlery with all the bits in is just not acceptable.

If Mr Collis doesn't clean up this time,

he will face prosecution.

This is just a glitch, I will be back on top of it again.

In Southend, chef Vaughn managed to find his missing paperwork.

I don't want to write a letter

saying that you hadn't got it and then it was there all the time.

And Doodah's was upgraded to a score on the door of two.

In Suffolk, two weeks after her last visit to The Crown pub,

Sara returned to see whether Jon Collis had managed to clean up his kitchen.

And you know what? It sparkled.

When you spent a little bit of time cleaning, did you think actually...

Everything was cleaned out.

Everything that's free-standing has been out.

And what about the insects in the cutlery drawer?

I think even you were quite surprised with what was in there.

A lot better, isn't it?

And, again, you've had a good clean in here as well, haven't you?

Nice one, Jon. He's also hired a cleaner

so the kitchen stays this way.

Some interesting results there, but the big question is,

will you be tempted the next time you're out to have a takeaway?

Not if I remember some of Steve's warnings,

and not if I don't see a good score on the door.

You could always eat in before going out.

That's very sensible, Chris(!)

Join us again next time as we reveal more of those dangers

-and how to avoid them. See you then.

-Bye.

Next time, I'm in Brent with one man who takes no prisoners.

You can't be open, OK? There's no way.

And I look at the hidden dangers of eating at your desk.

I think you may find one or two living organisms in there.

Possibly more than that.

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