Episode 4 Food Inspectors

Are you feeling hungry? Well, here's a nasty fact to chew on -

every week nearly 20,000 people get food poisoning.

But it could be much worse.

Yes. Luckily for us there's an army of nearly 3,000 public servants

whose mission in life is to track down those people

who sell us dangerous food.

You know who you are, and so do the food inspectors.

Over this series, we're out on the road with the food inspectors.

So you need to get your act together.

They discover the places where no-one seems to know what they're doing...

You can't have a rabbit where you're preparing food.

You need to take the rabbit out now. Take the rabbit out now.

And we discover the visitors that no restaurant ever wants to meet.

We have so many live cockroaches in the preparation area.

What are you playing at?!

I reveal the truth about the hidden world of food crime

that could put you in danger.

-What he's describing there is smuggling.

-It's a time bomb waiting to go off.

And I found out how some of the country's biggest food manufacturers

keep us safe.

This doesn't look like a kitchen, this looks like a science lab.

This week,

are workers sleeping in kitchens and breaking hygiene rules?

We've got a mattress there...

You've got dirty clothes, people carrying out their ablutions here.

In Enfield, Mary finds the DIY repair that could be a safety risk.

You can't have cardboard or paper in the extraction filter.

That could result in a fire.

And I drop in on a man whose fridge hides a dark secret.

It's like an old person's heel.

Ew!

If you go to your doctor's, you hope they know exactly what they're doing.

Exactly the same with a chef or a cook.

And if they don't know about hygiene in the kitchen,

the chances are the meal you've just enjoyed

could be a memory for the wrong reasons.

Cardiff - there are some 2,500 food outlets here

and they've all got to be checked out by the food inspectors.

Today we're out on the road with 26-year-old food inspector Mark Lee.

He's only been in the job for two years,

but he's already a force to be reckoned with.

OK, we're going to a sandwich shop today.

I haven't been there before, nor has the authority,

so it hasn't actually undergone inspection by Cardiff yet.

So I'm not really sure what we're going to find.

Well, this is it -

the Salad Bar, owned by father and son team

Alberto and Alex.

The kind of place you'd pop in for a sandwich.

Innocent enough, you might think, but as we learned earlier in the series,

they can be a nesting place for bad bacteria.

How the ingredients are kept is incredibly important.

In regard to when you open things, say packs of ham, things like that,

-how many days would you keep it for?

-No more than three days.

Within three days. I'm happy with that.

How do you make sure it's not kept longer than three days?

Well, we check everything here. I work six days a week with my father.

-So you're always here. You know when you did it.

-Always here.

Satisfied with Alex's storage times for ingredients,

next is one of the most important questions

the food inspectors ask -

is the fridge cold enough?

It's reading about 8.7, OK?

It's not massively outside the temperature range we're looking for.

All fridges and chillers legally need to be below eight degrees centigrade,

but the inspectors prefer closer to five.

Mark decides he needs to look at the storage fridge next.

To get accurate readings, Mark probes the food.

Anything over eight degrees isn't cold enough.

The temperature on this fridge

is reading high, OK?

It's reading at 16.2.

That isn't good news. The temperature of the fridge isn't much colder

than the outside. There's one solution and it's going to be costly.

I've got no confidence how long it's been out of temperature control for.

-OK.

-So what you're going to need to do,

you're going to have to waste some of these products, OK?

"Waste" is food inspector speak for throwing things way.

What began as a routine inspection

is quickly turning into a bigger problem.

Just working out how long the product's been in there for

and what needs to be disposed of.

If it's to be consumed within three days, that probably poses a bit of a risk, yeah?

Mark takes no chances.

-Salad creams...

-Bottle after jar after bottle goes straight in the bin.

I don't like throwing food out at all.

But it's just one of those things, unfortunately.

We've got to deal with the risk there.

At the end of the day you don't like doing it.

It's just to protect public health.

This lot has cost Alex and his dad around £50,

so an expensive lesson from the food inspector, but a small price to pay

for keeping the people of Cardiff safe.

And we'll be back with Mark later

to see if Alex manages to keep everything cool

at the Salad Bar.

Food business is big business,

and it can attract people who cut corners,

which can put you and your family and anyone who eats these foods

at serious risk of illness.

Tonight I'm investigating beds in restaurants -

the alarming practice of workers sleeping in kitchens.

It's a human problem

and a hygiene problem that could make our food dangerous to eat.

We're on the streets of Newham, East London,

with food hygiene officer Matt Collins.

Today he's on the hunt for food outlets breaking the rules.

I'll give them about two seconds then start poking around.

For the first time last year,

nine councils were given a total of nearly £2 million by the government

to tackle migrants living in illegal accommodation -

what's called "beds in sheds".

The council's also looking for beds in restaurants.

A bed, there was a fold-up-bed, in the shop.

Matt Collins has found 12 cases of people living in kitchens

in the last three years.

So you're in and out of premises on a daily basis. That's your job.

That's my day job, yeah.

Does it worry you when you see accommodation and kitchens

-right next to each other?

-I think it's very worrying.

It's totally unacceptable. The people that are managing the business

are...are not professional in their outlook.

Nobody that was professional would have somebody living in the back of their chicken shop.

Jenny Morris is from the Chartered Institute for Environmental Health

and was responsible for food hygiene at London 2012.

She says anyone sleeping in a kitchen presents a clear health risk to the customer.

For the record, this kitchen is perfectly legal in every way.

The problem with buying food

from restaurants where people live in kitchens

are that the chances are much greater

you will get things in the food that you don't want.

That might be physical things. It might be bits of hair,

it might be bits of nails or it might be the bugs that you can't see.

Bugs like...

This is a bacteria that usually lives harmlessly

on our skin and in our noses.

But it can contaminate food

if people are living or sleeping in kitchens...

..from their skin or from washing in sinks designed for food preparation.

The results can be fairly spectacular.

If you are unfortunate enough to eat food that has this bug in it,

you may be ill before you leave the restaurant if it's a sit-down.

It can be projectile vomiting within a couple of hours.

Matt Collins usually acts on information from food inspector colleagues,

who think they've seen objects that shouldn't be there during routine inspections.

Things like dirty clothes or toiletries.

I'm following Matt on patrol for the day.

From Newham Council. I'm a food safety officer. Can I come through?

Is there a bed or some accommodation in the back of the shop?

Who's in charge?

Who's running the shop today?

-Nothing at all? Have you got a basement?

-Yeah.

-Can I look in the basement?

The first three are as clean as the proverbial whistle.

Now we're on our fourth, once again acting on info

that a colleague has seen "unusual" items.

We've had a referral from a council department

that somebody's sleeping in the basement of this shop.

We need to go and have a look, see if there's any problem with food hygiene

or means of escape in case of fire, health and safety, whatever.

-So that's what we're doing today.

-Let's check it out.

-OK.

Of course, it's just a tip-off.

It could amount to nothing.

My name's Matthew Collins, I'm a food hygiene officer from Newham Council.

-This is my colleague.

-I'm an enforcement officer.

I'm here today because I've had a referral from one of my colleagues

that there's somebody sleeping in the basement...sorry, in the back room

of the restaurant here, so I need to come and have a look.

Once he's in the back of the shop,

Matt is clearly not happy with the state of the place.

Nice quantity of flies!

This... I'm not very happy with this at all, actually.

Straight away, Matt's on the case.

In the back of the shop it's an interesting mix of, er,

living area. We've got bicycles,

a sewing machine and we've got a load of rubbish as well.

Excuse me?

It's the room at the back here.

The key to the door at the back there, I'd like that key, please,

-because we want to get inside that room. Can you get me that key, please?

-Yeah, yeah.

-Thank you.

The man says it's an office and that his manager has the key,

but locked rooms get Matt Collins twitchy.

While we wait for the key, it seems like a good time for some basic food hygiene training.

This shouldn't be stacked here.

Rubbish should be kept separate - because it's dirty, clearly -

from anything to do with food storage and food preparation.

Your initial impressions, then, as you come through from the shop front into these areas.

As we move back into the area of the shop,

my impressions have been that there's an unpleasant odour

of decaying food waste.

There's also bits and pieces. There's a couple of bicycles at the back.

Why have bicycles at the back of a chicken shop?

A sewing machine. There's a shower and there's a room locked at the back, which is where we believe...

That's interesting right there. Look at that.

Yeah, indeed.

There could be a genuine reason why people need a toothbrush and toothpaste at work.

They might just be keen on dental hygiene. But they're all indicators

that the back of this shop is being used for something rather different from just food hygiene.

They're clues, though, rather than a smoking gun, aren't they?

-Indeed, yeah.

-We haven't found a bed here yet.

No, but we're interested in that back room.

That's the room we're interested in.

Join me later when the key is found and all is revealed.

It's estimated that there are over a million cases of food poisoning

every year in the UK

and almost half of these are the result of some dodgy cooking

by family and friends.

So are you a dining disaster waiting to happen?

Well, I hope not, and to make sure,

we'll be visiting a kitchen, home, workplace near you,

and we'll be giving you some very useful cooking tips,

because I'll be bringing our very own food inspector, Ben Milligan.

Now, roast lamb. It's a British favourite.

We spent £607 million on lamb last year.

Served with all the trimmings, what could be better than a Sunday roast?

And what could possibly go wrong?

Today I'm in Brixton to see Dave and Rich.

They're cooking roast dinner for their mates for the very first time.

The good news is, I've got the plonk.

The bad news is, they're on the top floor.

THEY CHEER

The party's already in full swing.

In his spare time, Dave's a stand-up comedian.

So will this meal be a comedy of errors

or will his debut in the kitchen bring the house down?

Well, in terms of his person,

he's always very well turned out, stylish, presents himself very well.

So I'm hoping he'll be the same when it comes to cooking at this level.

I hope he's got fresh stuff in tonight.

It's a leap of faith, but I'm going to trust Dave on that one.

-I'm here, Dave.

-Oh, hello, Chris.

Mate, I've come for dinner. Thank you very much. Here's a bottle of wine.

-Aw, bless you!

-Where can I put my coat?

Cor, look at this lovely joint of lamb!

Are you a good cook?

Um, I'd like to say I'm kind of above sandwich.

-Right.

-But kind of below risotto.

Right, OK. Well, that sounds acceptable.

We are here to make sure you cook this

and the rest of your roast dinner very, very safely.

So I've got a bit of a surprise for you. Ben?

ZAPPING AND DRAMATIC MUSIC

I've brought along my food inspector

to make sure that every step is correctly taken

and you don't poison your guests.

Are you ready for this?

It's a little bit scary.

It should be. He is very scary.

What are the concerns with a piece of lamb that we should be thinking about?

What you should really do is treat raw meat as contaminated.

Should you wash meat?

If you wash it, there's a potential to splash the bacteria about the kitchen.

The main thing is to cook this properly to kill any bacteria that might be on it.

So 220 for two and a half hours, right?

Say goodbye to your lamb.

And in it goes.

So, what do we need to know about cooking lamb?

Well, like beef, e-coli can get on its surface.

That's because e-coli is often in animals' guts and this can get onto the meat during slaughter.

So rule number one is to properly seal the outside of the meat at high heat to kill any bacteria.

Then it's OK to serve pink, although food inspectors will always advise

that pink meat is never risk free.

But be extra careful with rolled joints.

Cook right through

until the juices run clear.

Well, that's the lamb.

Now for the vegetable trimmings. Where are they?

Let's have a look in the fridge.

THEME FROM PSYCHO

Uh-oh! The fridge is filthy.

I think it's only fair to show Dave's guests before they eat his food.

We've got...29th of August

for some...

Oh, my word!

'Are they dead or alive? What they are is a month out of date.'

Looking forward to tonight's dinner?

-Eurgh!

-Ew!

It's like an old person's heel.

'Mm, cheese.

'Seven months out of date and still in the fridge.

'And then there's the swamp thing in the salad bag.

'It was pre-washed, but now it just looks prehistoric.'

'Out of date food is bad. If it's past its use-by date,

'chuck it in the bin.

'The question is, are Dave's guests still looking forward to dinner?'

I'm sure we'll probably be fine, but...it's a little bit worrying.

'Dave's veg trimmings were bought today and haven't touched the fridge,

'but he's not out of the woods yet.'

Do you use this for any other things?

Er, generally carrots and sometimes potatoes.

-So no meats on that?

-No, we've got a separate chopping board for meats.

Which is the correct answer, isn't it?

'But still be careful. Bacteria from the veg skin can get stuck

'in the surface of the chopping board. Ben, time for a tip.'

Right.

So you take off these little bits.

-You're just playing it back, really, to help a more level surface.

-OK.

'The trouble with veg is it can be grown in manure and, like lamb, can have e-coli.'

How long have you got to cook vegetables to kill e-coli?

Well, it's the same as other things, really. If it's been at 70 degrees

-for two minutes you're likely to kill anything that's around.

-Brilliant.

'So if you do like a bit of raw veg, wash and peel thoroughly.

'An hour later it's time to serve up a delightful roast dinner for Dave's guests.'

Now we're talking!

Cheers!

Here we go,

ladies and gents.

ALL CHEER Sir, enjoy.

They look quite happy, don't they?

Yeah, he pulled it out of the bag.

-He did. Would you eat in there?

-No!

-Why not?

-Have you seen that kitchen?

Yeah, it was pretty bad. How about that fridge, eh?

Oh, disgusting.

'For the record, no-one was ill after Dave's dinner.'

We're in Enfield, North London,

and with the food inspectors tag team, Claire and Mary.

Over the last few weeks we've been with them every step of the way.

They found the tips no waiter wants left behind.

We've got droppings on this one.

Eurgh!

A grisly discovery out back...

-Is that just leaves?

-I'm not sure.

..and an unexpected guest who wasn't coming to dinner.

Claire, I've seen a rabbit.

SHE LAUGHS

Now they're about to do a spot check

on a takeaway they last inspected 18 months ago.

Then it was awarded a very solid four out of five hygiene rating.

Hello, there. From Enfield Council environmental health.

We've come to do your food hygiene inspection.

Just a routine inspection tonight.

Have they managed to keep up those high standards?

The cleaning behind there is appalling.

Mm, it is out here.

Grains of rice all over the floor too.

Claire, look.

Your cleaning is very poor here.

-I always...

-No.

-..clean it every night.

-No, you're not cleaning that every night.

This isn't just one day's worth of dirt.

You might be sweeping, maybe, but no, this is longer than that.

A dirty kitchen can be an inviting source of food for unwanted visitors

like rats and mice.

No sign of those here, but Claire and Mary are far from through with their inspection.

Something smells round here.

Everything's very greasy here.

And look at how dirty those cloths are.

On top of the dirt, Mary finds evidence of a clear fire risk.

You can't have cardboard or paper in the extraction filter.

That is dangerous and that could result in a fire.

So you shouldn't have paper, because the idea of this

is to stop grease going up and smells

and it's not safe to have paper up there.

Moving on, Claire is keen to check what is known in the trade

as contact points - things you touch, to you and me.

The theory being, if they're dirty, then hands will be dirty when they touch the food.

And also your tap handles.

The tap handle is very sticky. Can you feel it?

It feels all sticky. Because you're touching that, and if you come with me I'll show you.

I've just got that from inside here. In here is dirty.

But I always just do...

That's right, but this is where people touch,

and their hands are dirty, so you need to clean inside those areas.

Mary thinks it's time for a few questions.

How would they clean the surface?

We use the paper...

Anything else?

And we've got, um...Mr...

-Muscle.

-Right.

-This doesn't work.

-That spray's no good.

You do not have any antibacterial spray.

-Can you get someone to go and get some now?

-Yeah, yeah.

This is by no means the worst kitchen

Claire and Mary have seen,

but a series of small issues are adding up into a bigger problem.

Next up, the fridge.

It's some kind of sauce.

The issue with that is that the spoon is actually inside, touching the food,

so obviously you can see that the hand contact surfaces are dirty,

so if hands aren't clean, hands are going on that and in contact with the food,

so obviously there's a contamination issue there.

So food in here should be covered to avoid contamination.

And this is leaking, so it's actually...water's dripping into food as well.

So there's a problem there.

OK, so the fridge doesn't get top marks either.

The owner knows that the food inspectors set high standards

and that these visits are very important.

She wants to do her very best to improve.

I clean every day, but she's still not happy.

Because do you know why? When you cook the smoke go everywhere.

Then you can't say everything is not oily, yeah?

If they check properly,

it's safe for customer.

Inspection over, and it's time for Claire and Mary's verdict.

Restaurant owners of a nervous disposition may like to cover your ears.

I came to do the last inspection.

You ended up getting a food hygiene rating of four.

Restaurants are given a food hygiene rating

from zero to five, five being the best.

Depending on the inspection, this rating can go down as well as up.

Because of what we've seen today,

we're going to ask you to take that down, yeah?

-Take that away.

-OK.

-You're going to be a lot less than four.

I was very disappointed.

I did the last inspection 18 months ago and gave it a four rating,

which is very good.

There were dirty cloths

on nearly every surface.

The cleaning on the floors

was really bad.

What is known as hand contact surfaces -

door handles, fridge handles,

light switches - were all dirty.

The major problem was that the chef didn't have food hygiene training,

so didn't appreciate the hazards. So his storage was incorrect.

He was storing raw food next to ready-to-eat containers.

Claire and Mary will revisit the restaurant in a few days' time

to see if things have improved.

We'll let you know what they find at the end of the programme.

Back on the streets of London and we're looking at the problem

of workers sleeping in restaurant kitchens.

It's a very real problem.

I think it's very worrying. I think it's totally unacceptable.

It's also seriously unhealthy.

It can be projectile vomiting within a couple of hours.

I'm out on patrol with Newham Council's Matt Collins.

My name's Matthew Collins. I'm a food hygiene officer from Newham council.

Have you got a basement? Can I have a look?

Earlier on, he wanted to find out if someone was living in a room at the back of this chicken restaurant,

but the room was locked.

I'd like that key, please, cos we want to get inside that room.

Workers sleeping where we eat is a hygiene problem, but, more importantly, it's a human problem,

because we're often talking about vulnerable people on low wages.

We've spoken to two restaurant workers - nothing to do with any restaurants we've featured -

who agreed to talk to us on the basis that we hide their identity.

Yeah, I sleep in the restaurant when I do work in the restaurant.

When I work, I sleep in there.

Sometimes on the floor, sometimes on the storeroom.

They've got nowhere to sleep, nowhere to go, nowhere to go to work.

They are all the time in the restaurant sleeping on the floor.

It's no good.

Over in East London, the key for the locked room has been found.

Previously, remember, Matt Collins had been told this was an office.

OK, so what have we got in here?

-We've got a mattress...

-A mattress.

-A wardrobe.

-Personal effects, we've got toiletries there,

dirty clothes in bags,

a briefcase, a TV.

I don't know if that's working or not, but there's a TV and some bags of clothing.

And if you look in the drawers, various other bits and pieces, which suggest it's in use as accommodation

rather than an area where people just rest.

In terms of food hygiene, what's the problem with this being here?

This is a food preparation area.

You've got dirty clothes and people carrying out their ablutions here,

in a room that leads directly on to a room where food is handled, stored and prepared.

It's not an appropriate use for it.

Just as we were about to leave, the manager turns up

and he's keen to explain it's not what it looks like.

This is not living accommodation or anything, it's just a little bit of storage that we've got there.

Just some old clothes or some old furniture. That's it.

Because... one of the guys got divorced

so he just chucked all his rubbish in there.

There's a mattress in there, personal effects and a wardrobe,

which does make it look like a bedroom.

You can see why they might think that.

Yeah, but it's not the case.

Let's be clear about the outcome here.

Even though Matt Collins felt the setup at the back of this restaurant

was inappropriate,

no evidence was found that someone was actually living there,

and so no further action was taken.

But inspectors like Matt Collins are in no doubt there is a problem

here and in other areas around the country.

What's going to happen then? Because as long as people are trying

to make very quick money from chicken outlets,

you're going to find the odd mattress in the back of shops

as management changes and it comes through again.

You're right. We walked through one business, it was quite good at the front.

As we walked through to the back it dropped off, and that, sadly, is an all too common story.

What I didn't know until today was what can lurk behind the counter, what's going on behind the scenes.

And for the employees, who have to put up with those kinds of conditions, that is miserable.

And it also has an impact on the food you eat.

The UK food business is worth billions of pounds, and this is production on a massive scale.

But along with that comes huge responsibility.

One small mistake and their reputation could be in tatters.

We've been given exclusive behind-the-scenes access to some of the leading manufacturers in the UK,

who have been showing us how they keep Britain save.

Now, if you were asked to choose the UK's favourite food, I wonder what would top the menu.

Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding? Bangers and mash? They'd be up there.

But what if I asked you to choose Britain's favourite vegetable?

What would take pole position in a veggie pantheon of culinary delights?

Well, believe it or not, it could be...

this.

Yes, the pea. And you would not believe the care and attention

that goes into bringing this humble green from a field like this

on to your plate in pristine condition.

Mmm!

Peas - innocent little bundles of tasty happiness.

But these nuggets of green joy have to be lovingly cared for

if they're to reach our plates in pristine condition.

That's why we need some very special pea people.

Richard Hirst knows what it takes to produce the humble pea.

Now, let me just get down to the nitty-gritty, down to the roots,

cos I've picked up a little pod here. I picked it up about two minutes ago,

-and you looked at me in alarm.

-Yeah.

-Why?

Once the peas are out of the pod like that

we have 150 minutes to get them frozen.

Would there be bacteria on that?

There can be bacteria and the process of freezing and cooking

beforehand will kill any bacteria on there.

So it is about the safety of the crop

and also making sure it tastes absolutely perfect as well.

'Getting the peas from pod to freezer is all about speed,

'and it begins with harvesting.'

It's a pretty impressive piece of machinery.

Do you have to take any precautions with that?

Yes, we've got the picking height set

so we're not picking up any rubbish off the floor, stones, any glass.

And also, we wash them down for two hours every day.

Keeps any bacteria levels right down,

reduces the risk of any contamination...

You keep looking at your watch. When did this field start?

-We started up 38 minutes ago.

-38 minutes ago?

-Yes.

By my calculations, 12 minutes before you're off to the freezer?

-That's correct, yes.

-12 minutes?

-12 minutes, before that load leaves.

-I'll leave you to it...

-OK, jolly good...

-See you later.

'With the food safety clock ticking in the race against bacteria,

'there's no time to stand around and chat.'

# A little less conversation and a little more action please

# All this aggravation ain't satisfactionin' me

# A little more bite and a little less bark

# A little less fight and a little more spark... #

It's going to be very tight, this one.

'Once back at the factory,

'there's just 50 minutes for the peas to be sorted

'before they need to be frozen.

'The first machine removes anything that isn't a pea,

'such as stones, snails and stalks.

'They then go through a clever colour sorting machine, which rejects

'any remaining objects that aren't the luscious green we all love.

'With the clock running down, it's time to get a sweat on.'

It is hot and it is steamy in here. This is the blanching process.

What are we doing here?

We're killing the microbial life,

things like salmonella, E coli, coliform,

bugs that naturally occur in the soil.

At the same time, we're killing the enzymes,

which help preserve the integrity of the pea,

ie, colour, texture, taste.

-So we're making it safe and making it look good?

-Yes.

'OK, so they've been picked, sorted, blanched.

'Now it's time to chill it all down.'

It's cold in here. How cold?

This room will run between minus 25 and minus 30.

-That is cold.

-Very cold.

I see the man behind me, he's got the big, thick jackets on.

How long would we survive in here dressed like this?

-Er, I'd imagine about half an hour.

-Right, let's do this quickly then.

-Yes.

-What does it do to the pea?

Well, it's individually, quickly freezing each pea.

There's air coming through it as well, which keeps them separate.

And what we're doing is

any grub or growth that won't have been killed, has been arrested.

At minus 18, and there is no bug growth, so things like E coli,

if they're there, can't grow...

-Time to get out?

-Yes.

-Let's go.

'Just 150 minutes ago, these peas were still in their pods.

'Now they're free from any nastiness and ready to be sent packing.'

So, here it is, the perfect plate of peas.

I can tell you, they taste absolutely delicious.

So the next time you're tucking in,

just have a think about how much hard work

goes in to getting them there on your plate.

So, to the frozen pea growers, the manufacturers,

we thank you for keeping our peas safe to eat,

and please, carry on protecting Britain.

Matt, truthfully, tell me the most disgusting kitchen you've ever seen.

OK, when I was younger, I knew this guy, and his kitchen...

in this kitchen, everything smelt of cheese...

-Except the cheese.

-Eurgh.

-Yes.

Fridge, worst fridge you've seen?

Er, funnily enough, the same guy...

-A mate?

-Yes, a friend.

And in his fridge, the crisper draw for the vegetables,

it was like silage in there.

Eurgh. And where was this house?

-Funnily enough, he lived very close to me. Yes.

-Mmm...

This kitchen, this fridge, it was yours, wasn't it, mate?

Yes, it was.

'It's time to head back to Cardiff.

'Mark Lee is returning to the Salad Bar.'

Nice to see you.

'Last week, he gave Alberto and Alex

'their very first inspection, always a nerve-wracking experience.

'And they had got a lot right, but some important things wrong.

'There was one problem Mark wasn't happy about.'

The temperature on this fridge, um, is reading high, OK?

It's reading at 16.2.

'The fridge was way above the legal limit of eight degrees centigrade,

'and with prepared food,

'that increases the chance of nasty bacteria.'

I'm going to have to waste some of these products.

'It's never nice to see food wasted, but this lot had to go.

'Mark ruled that around £50 worth of ingredients should be binned.'

The mayos. That's mayo, isn't it?

'So, it's a tense moment today for Alex,

'as Mark reinspects the fridge.'

Um, I'm just going to check the temperature.

-OK.

-'Hold on. It's still 16 degrees Centigrade.

'That's the same as last time.

'But this time, what's in the fridge makes all the difference.'

They're not storing high-risk foods in here now.

Because I don't think it can hold temperature, as what it should do.

It's just low-risk food in here.

Things that aren't prepared, so, whole tomatoes,

the lettuce hasn't been prepared yet...

'The fridge isn't really doing its job.

'It's more like an illuminated cupboard.

'But Mark's satisfied there's nothing here to worry about.

'What about the deli counter?

'Last time, it was just over the eight degree centigrade limit.

The temperatures are right, which was 6.2.

Um, and also, the temperature, some of the salad items at the top,

some tomatoes, which was 5.9...

Which I'm happy with.

All the high risk items are where they should be, down the bottom

and kept cold under the right temperature control and conditions.

'Now it's time for the verdict.'

Alex, really happy with everything you've done. Really happy.

Some the stuff I'll come back and discuss paperwork in a couple of weeks.

-OK.

-But apart from that, I'm really happy with everything you've done.

'As we know, food inspectors have the power to award hygiene ratings.

'Alex is currently on a two.

'But he's got his sights set high.'

I understand the fact that I didn't have some things in order.

But three months from now, I will have everything in order

and hopefully I can get my five stars, which is what I want.

'Britain has a great tradition of small-food producers.

'Small outfits providing big flavours.

'And these foods often come straight from the farm onto our forks.

'So, getting it right can be make or break,

'because these people are directly responsible

'for everything they sell.

'Who are these self-contained heroes of the food chain?

'It's time to meet the producers...'

Farmers' markets.

Celebrity chefs, they're always banging on about farmers' markets,

how you get to meet the producer face to face,

the food's more authentic, you're going to ask questions.

Well, I tell you what, Jamie Ramsay,

not everybody likes farmers' markets.

Because they're a bit too natural.

And nature by its very nature is filthy.

So, how do you shop at a farmers' market and stay safe?

That is Somerset.

There is a farmers' market somewhere down there.

Shall we?

'This farmers' market in Taunton is pretty typical

'of hundreds of similar places across Britain.

'This one's been happening twice a week for five years.

'I've come to meet Carol Slinger,

'head of training at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

'People who sell food to the public can take an exam.

'Carol sets the exams.

'If anyone can settle my nerves about buying food

'that isn't sold under strict lighting, then she can.

'First up, the bit of my dinner that is not two veg.'

-So, Carol, we've got this beautiful meat laid out here.

-Yes.

But the idea of it being outside like this

just gives me slightly collywobbles, just a bit.

Well, it shouldn't do really, because it's in polystyrene boxes

and you'll find some ice packs underneath there,

which are keeping it quite cool and it's all vacuum packed.

The vacuum packing removes all the oxygen from around the meat

and a lot of bacteria need oxygen to multiply.

OK, so it's no more dangerous out here, the way it is right now,

than if it was in a supermarket, or anywhere else, in a butcher's?

No, because they'd be constantly checking that the temperature's

kept cool enough, which is legally below eight degrees.

In my mind, I'm not really worried about bread.

No, you shouldn't need to be,

because bread is a very low risk food because of its dryness.

I noticed you're rocking the Michael Jackson look

-and you've got one gloved hand and one ungloved hand.

-That's right.

What's the thinking there?

It's a very well practised market technique,

where I can handle the bread with one hand, but money,

being one of the dirtiest things you don't want to handle that

and handle food in the same hand,

so this hand is well practised at handling money and change

and this one handles the bread,

that's our standard practice with all our market crew.

-Is that by the book, Carol?

-It is, absolutely. It's good practice, yes.

'So, bread you eat in one hand, bread you spend in the other.

'And what goes well with a hunk of bread? Let me think. Oh...

'Cheese! Yes.

'Now, the thing to ask about here is whether it's unpasteurised.

'If it is, young, sick, elderly or pregnant,

'are advised to stay away.

'I'm learning a great deal today.

'I've even taken a short course in Japanese.' A sushi school.

-Look at that. Hajime mashite.

-Hajime mashite.

-How are you doing, you all right?

-Good, thank you.

OK, so here we've got rice.

We're looking at cured fish, things like noodles as well.

What should I be looking out for as a customer?

Well, with rice there is a particular problem sometimes

in that rice can have a bacteria in it called cilia cereus.

So, that's one of those bugs

that even cooking won't help get rid of. It can stick around?

It will kill bacteria but it won't kill the spores of the bacteria.

So, once the rice is then cooled, there's moisture there,

so the bacteria can germinate from the spore form

and then start multiplying.

So, once the rice is cooked, it should be cooled

and kept chilled while it's being displayed like this.

'And this rice is spot on.'

THEY TALK IN JAPANESE

God, he speak Japanese.

Now watch as I prepare to reveal

one of the mysteries of the world of food.

OK, now, this is an interesting stall

because over here we have raw meat

and over here we have cooked, cured meat, bacons, things like that.

-Good afternoon.

-Hello.

-How are you doing?

Now, what I don't understand is how you take a piece of pork,

-leave it hanging for how long?

-This one is probably four weeks.

Four weeks? It just hanging. How can that not be off?

Well, it's been cured.

It's been treated with salt and sugar and kept refrigerated

while it is drying and in that kind of atmosphere,

the bacteria can't multiply.

Any chance I could see how this is made?

-Yeah, I'd love to show you.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-That's good. Let's go.

'I'll be back later in the show with stall owner Donna Lucking

'as she reveals the secret of safe salami making.

'And it's a practical.'

-Do you want to have a go at filling it?

-Well, yes.

How hard can it be?

-It's a thing of wonder though. Look at that.

-Look at that, yes.

First though, here's a quick recap

about shopping safely at a farmers' market.

Any fresh meat should be chilled below eight degrees.

Below five degrees is ideal.

Check if any soft or blue cheese is unpasteurised.

Pregnant women, the elderly and very young want to give it a miss.

Anyone handling unwrapped food and money

should use different hands for different jobs.

Remember Michael Jackson.

Rolling into Reigate and Banstead is food inspector Russell Jenner.

He is here to sheriff the area's restaurants

and their kitchens are his Wild West.

This back door is pretty dirty.

Yeah, yeah.

Russell's been inspecting kitchens for a quarter of a century and today

is about to make an unannounced spot check at an Indian restaurant.

We haven't been there for about 18 months.

They won't be expecting us and it will be interesting to see

whether they are keeping up the cleaning here.

On the last visit, the restaurant impressed Russell,

but hygiene habits change and that's why the inspectors make regular checks.

As with any inspection, Russell wants to start by washing his hands.

All kitchen staff should be doing the same before any food preparation.

Oh.

When did that happen?

-Two days ago?

-Two days.

-Two days ago.

So, the sink was broken two days ago by a falling meat skewer.

The new hand basin has arrived but is yet to be fitted.

It's a good excuse but hand washing stops for nothing.

How are you washing your hands?

Yes, of course. All the time we are washing our hands.

How are you washing your hands on your wash hand basin...?

-Antibacterial soap liquid. The soap is there.

-You're using this one?

No. This soap we are using here.

So, where are you doing it at the moment?

-At the moment we are using this one. For one week.

-All right.

-Because as soon as possible we will...

-That's all right.

-Just tell me the way it is. That's fine.

-This is their rule actually.

-It's not ideal. You need that.

-Yeah, of course we need.

OK, the hand basin needs immediate attention.

Russell could not be clearer.

Now he is finally ready to start the inspection proper.

-That's used for poppadoms?

-Yeah, poppadoms.

But we need to clean it now. It is actually empty.

The thing is, when you put your poppadoms in there to drain...

There's a lot of oil inside the poppadom. It is fried by oil.

You can't use newspaper, you see.

I want the poppadoms to go

cos they have been in touch with that greasy...

Yes. As soon as possible.

As soon as possible is now.

So, you're going to put them in the bin?

Yes, of course.

No, not those.

-The actual poppadoms.

-Yes. OK, no problem.

From cooked food to raw,

Russell is keen to know how they handle their meat.

So, what have you got in those bins there?

-Meat.

-Fresh meat?

-Fresh meat.

The staff show Russell the meat

and it leads to an impromptu lesson in food hygiene.

The red meat container that was in touch with the red meat,

so it had red meat juices over the bottom, you put it on there.

This is now contaminated.

You have now got a green knife

that's contaminated with the juices from that.

That's cross contamination.

You must do all your raw meat preparation

and then clean down and sanitise.

Now there is a lesson for all of us.

To stand any chance in the fight against cross contamination,

you need the proper kind of cleaning kit.

What are you using to clean it?

-What antibacterial? Can I have a look at that?

-Of course.

The staff here pride themselves on running a tight ship

and go quickly in search of the sanitiser.

But for the moment it is proving elusive.

If you can't find it, you can't use it.

We don't know where it is, but it is here.

To the naked eye, this kitchen looks pretty clean

but what you can't see is just as important.

So where is that sanitiser?

That is range cleaner.

I haven't seen any sanitiser yet.

-Sanitiser.

-I can't find any.

All I can see is oven and fryer cleaner,

Mr Muscle Window & Glass and oven cleaner.

So I haven't seen anything for cleaning those surfaces down.

You have got this one but it's got no label on it

and that's made up from some sort of concentrate

and I can't see the bottle of concentrate.

-Maybe this is also some sanitiser.

-Maybe it is and maybe it isn't.

It is actually. This is sanitiser actually.

-Yes, this is sanitiser, actually.

-You can tell by spraying it.

-Yeah.

This does, in fact, turn out to be the sanitiser.

They had it all along. Good for them.

It's not always easy being questioned by the food inspectors.

The great sanitiser hunt ends happily, but the sink

and the poppadom storage still need to be put right.

OK, so what I'm going to do now is write up a basic report

and I will have to write you a detailed letter

and I will have a quick word with your chef on the phone as well. OK?

Thank you.

Russell will return for a follow-up inspection.

We'll let you know what he finds at the end of the show.

Once again I am talking about from poisoning from my food lab

and how it affects your body.

I've got another terrible story to tell you

and a few tips to make sure you don't become a victim.

This is the story of Kevin Hughes.

He lives in North Wales with his wife Chloe and two-year-old son Harry.

He is an extremely keen footballer. He plays two or three times a week.

Well, he did.

Because one day he decided to grab a sarnie at a local deli

while he was at work.

It was just the usual Monday.

I went for my break.

I didn't bring any lunch with me so I went to the local deli shop

and just got a chicken sandwich from there.

Kevin suspects but can't prove that his visit to the deli lead to

hospitalisation and a violent bout of illness he will never forget.

In the afternoon I just started to feel unwell.

I started to have aches and pains

and I was up for most of the night throwing up and having diarrhoea.

What Kevin didn't know was that he had picked up a very serious

case of food poisoning, caused by the bacteria Campylobacter,

which we have talked about before in this series.

It is a growing problem.

In 2011 there were over 1,000 more cases than in 2010.

It enters the stomach, invades the small intestine and starts dividing.

This causes disease in the surrounding environment

which, in turn, makes you sick, as Kevin knows all too well.

I didn't move out of the bedroom the whole time apart from,

obviously, going to the bathroom.

On Sunday night, I couldn't sleep.

This was possibly about midnight.

Going downstairs and I just remember at that time

just sitting on the toilet, completely drained.

-So, you are in a bad way now, mate.

-Yeah, a really bad way.

We are talking about six days of constantly going to the loo,

constantly being sick.

So, hands up -

who knows why we should never eat undercooked chicken?

Stand by - here comes the science.

One of the most popular breeding grounds for Campylobacter

is unpasteurised cheese and milk

but this is the biggest culprit of them all.

Campylobacter lives harmlessly in the guts of this animal

but can contaminate the flesh when it is slaughtered.

As can contact with contaminated faeces, and this is where it gets

dangerous because if it gets inside of you, it can make you very ill.

Kevin was now in big trouble.

Seven days after eating his sandwich, he was admitted to hospital.

One of the specialist doctors came to see me

and said it's very rarely they'd seen anybody suffer so bad from it.

And the reaction that my body had to Campylobacter,

they thought I had a problem with my immunity.

They kept me on the drip up until Friday.

Five days on a drip.

-Yeah.

-My goodness. So, thankfully, you are well now.

Are you 100%? Are you back to where you were?

No, not at all.

Any time I am really off work, it's all stomach-related.

'Even today, Kevin is still extremely cautious about eating chicken.'

I still eat out now, but any time I eat chicken, if I'm in a restaurant,

I will cut through it, make sure it's cooked thoroughly.

Even if I have a sandwich out now, I will open the bread,

look in it, cos I don't want to get

that type of food poisoning ever, ever again, really.

Campylobacter is the number one cause of food poisoning in the UK

and a whopping 18% of all the raw chicken we buy is infected by it.

That's around one in five chickens.

But how do we know?

That chicken hasn't got it.

Nor has that one. Nor has that one.

But this one has.

You can't tell when you buy it

so all you've got to do is make sure you cook it properly.

So how do you avoid Campylobacter?

Well, when handling chicken, wash your hands regularly.

Keep raw and cooked meat separate in your fridge - raw meat at the bottom.

Cook chicken thoroughly.

At its thickest part,

the meat should read

at least 75 degrees Celsius

with a meat thermometer.

Now back to the producers -

the brilliant people who often take our food from farm to fork

and, as a result, have a huge responsibility

to get the hygiene absolutely bang tidy.

I've learned all about shopping at a farmers' market

but the ways of the salami are still hidden to me. It's a mystery.

How you take a piece of pork, leave it hanging for how long?

This one is probably four weeks.

How can that not be off?

Stallholder Donna Lucking has very kindly invited me

back to her farm to find out.

Donna is a small artisan producer on Ellises Farm in Devon.

She has been rearing Gloucester Old Spot pigs

for the last nine years.

Her mantra - happy pigs are tasty pigs.

-Oh, wow. This is where the magic happens.

-Yes.

This is cutting up the meat, preparing it for the salami.

-What do I need to do?

-Right, we've got a white coat there for you.

Do you want to wash your hands at the hand washbasin?

And there is a scrubber there to scrub your nails.

-Lovely fatty pork here.

-Yeah.

-OK, that's not going to fit into a sausage.

-No.

-Do you see how observant I am?

-You're learning.

-All the way.

Now, Donna says her cooked meats have a shelf life of five to 10 days

but her pork salamis which are dried and not cooked last 40.

How on earth does that work?

A very fatty bit there. Lovely.

Different producers use different methods to preserve the pork meat.

Donna uses the very freshest ingredients

and then adds a bit of magic we have had for centuries - salt.

We are going to give it a weigh-up cos we have to get

the exact amount of salt to cure it properly and effectively.

The salt acts as a stabiliser, preventing the growth of bacteria

but it has to be in exactly the right amount -

22 grams per kilo of meat.

Why is it so crucial then to get the amount right?

Cos that's the crucial amount. It has got to be that to cure it

and kill the bacteria that we don't want in salami.

So, which bugs is it you're trying to eliminate from that meat?

Listeria or botulism.

That's the main big ones that can survive in raw meat.

Do you know what botulism can do to you? Just scare me a bit.

Well, the main thing is it probably could kill you.

OK, that's bad enough. That's pretty much as bad as it gets.

After making you really, really ill. So, yeah, it's a big one.

You add lovely wine and herbs

and then another key part of making sure your salami is safe

is in the way you mix it up.

So, mixing is crucial because if the salt ends up patchy

and in one spot or another, there is a piece that won't be

properly protected if the mixture is not there.

Every precaution, all the way along the process.

Now for the fun bit.

I've waited for a very long time to get my hands on one of these.

-Do you want to have a go at filling it?

-Well, yes.

How hard can it be? I mean, seriously.

'This is the birth of a salami.

'Beautiful.'

-It's a thing of wonder though. Look at that.

-Yeah, look at that. Yeah.

Now it just needs to grow up.

Four to eight weeks spent at the correct temperature and humidity.

OK, there we go. Fantastic. Let's take it into the drying room.

-Is that all right?

-Your precious salami.

-I'm a little bit proud.

I'm a little bit proud.

Oh, wow.

-Look at that.

-All the salami.

-When they are mouldy like that,

that's the way they're supposed to look?

Yes, that's the way they're supposed to be.

'FASQ - frequently asked salami questions.

'The mouldy looking skin - can you eat it?'

They're safe moulds. It's a penicillin.

There's a couple of types of penicillin, so it is absolutely safe

but you don't have to eat it, you can unpeel it.

I didn't know that. The outside of a salami is penicillin.

Yes, yeah, exactly, yeah.

So, if you like the skin, eat the skin.

The mould is friendly. It's edible. Incredible.

So, once you have done your bit, you've made the salami,

you've sold it on, what about people at home?

What do they need to do? Can they hang it up for as long as they want?

You need to look after it when you get home

and give it the same attention cos if you put it

in a fridge in a plastic bag, it'll go sweaty and horrible.

It needs to be free and breathing. It's a natural product.

So keep it in the fridge, wrapped in some greaseproof paper

or brown paper but don't just hang it up in your kitchen. It's warm.

It's best to keep it safe in that fridge.

If I do nothing else until the end of my life,

I can now say I have made a salami, thanks to you.

-I've contributed. I've helped. Thank you very much.

-You have. Thank you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Really enjoyed that. Thank you.

Now, earlier in the show, Russell Jenner

in Reigate and Banstead and Claire and Mary in Enfield

both gave restaurants thorough inspections.

Both have now been reinspected. So what happened?

Well, Russell's Indian has replaced the broken sink, sorted out

their poppadom storage and the place is now looking very clean.

At Claire and Mary's Chinese,

the cardboard fire risk has been removed from the extractor fan.

The kitchen has been deep cleaned and they have brought in sanitiser

to keep the work surfaces clear from bacteria.

Great results all round.

If you do want to find out more about the place

you're about to eat, then you should check out its food hygiene rating

which goes from a five, very good,

to a zero, pretty awful.

And at the moment it is not compulsory to display

one of these certificates in a restaurant window,

so if there is not one there,

you might want to ask yourself, "Why not?"

But you can check online. Just go to www.food.gov.uk.

-And there is also an app for your smartphone.

-Is there?

-Yeah.

Yeah, that's, er...very good.

See you.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd