Episode 1 Food Fighters

We're a nation of food lovers, and the today there's more choice than ever.

Whether you're eating in or taking away, there's always the chance that something could go wrong.

So, it's a good job there's a whole army of people working hard to keep us safe.

They're the Food Fighters.

From the fields to your fork, who's protecting our burgers and steaks?

That's really what we want, isn't it, from the minute that that animal

has actually been on the farm, we've got this great kind of checking procedure all the time.

A Mexican stand-off at a tortilla takeaway.

To be honest, you're not helping your cause by trying to give me excuses.

-And...

-Keep working, please.

Will this ferry be given the all-clear to set sail?

I hope that he says that it was looking good and he will go off the ship again a happy man.

If variety is the spice of life, then that's especially true of our food industry.

From restaurants to takeaways, schools to hospitals, the list of places serving up meals is endless.

And keeping that food safe from the bugs, bacteria and rodents is

an ongoing challenge for our team of food inspectors around the country.

We join two of them checking out very different kitchens.

The West End, London.

Here, amongst the theatres and crowds, lie hundreds of cafes, bars and takeaways.

Sarah Quinn's job is simple -

To ensure that the food they serve doesn't make anyone ill.

Hello! Hiya, my name's Sarah.

I've just come down from environmental health at the council.

I'm just here for a routine food inspection, really.

Today its high noon for a new Mexican on the edge of Leicester Square.

While the boss is called, she has a good look around.

A lot bigger than it looks from the street. It does stretch back quite a way, doesn't it?

Lots of stainless steel.

It looks OK so far. I'm not too sure about some of the practices, but we'll see.

One key practice to check is how this takeaway handles the threat

from rodents, who, like the tourists, just love the West End.

Being right in Central London, slap bang in the West End,

mice are an inherent problem.

As long as the businesses are controlling that, that they are doing

regular cleaning, that they've got all controls in place, you know, to prevent the contamination of mice.

However, if we start seeing mouse droppings on higher surfaces near food preparation areas,

then the risk increases and we can look at different action, really.

The takeaway does employ experts to help keep the mice away.

Ah, I got it, so we've got your pest control.

It's really well organised.

But the proof will be in the droppings.

There's no mouse droppings in this area.

It's extremely dusty up there, though.

You've got a food preparation surface down below.

You don't want that type of dust dropping on to any type of open food.

Then Sara's search uncovers what all environmental health inspectors fear.

The main preparation surface,

she just said she was cutting and chopping food on it, and yet if you look in the back corner

we've got a mouse dropping.

And that's not the only one.

Mice, when they run around, are completely incontinent, so they will just urinate everywhere.

They can't stop themselves. Yeah? So we need to make sure that every morning when you come in

out comes your hot water, your soap, and your disinfectant and you spray it all down and clean it all up, OK?

Yeah.

So, the pesky mice can be managed in the short term by making sure surfaces are squeaky-clean.

But that's not going to be happening here.

Which one's your hot water?

-This is. But it's not working.

-There's no hot water?

This is a biggie for Sarah, and a legal requirement.

Bacteria have no worries at all about cold water and can

easily survive on surfaces, utensils and hands.

To get rid of them, the water must be piping hot.

This one's leaking, so it can't be used for washing hands.

They're not going to use it.

I'm a little bit concerned that I'm not getting any hot water.

Especially as we're finding mouse droppings.

It's really not a pretty picture here in the Wild West End.

The manager is going to face some questions.

40 miles away at Westcliff-on-Sea, Sarah's Essex colleague, Steve Ram,

is inspecting a very different setup.

It's not just high-street eateries that come under the gaze of the Food Fighters.

This is The Grange, a residential care home.

A different place, but for the inspectors, the same risks.

What I'm interested in today is the kitchen.

I was going to say, where do you want to start?

-Can you lead me to the kitchen, please?

-Yes, absolutely.

This care home is rated as a three-star for food hygiene,

marked down because last time they didn't have a hand basin in the kitchen.

But now, there's a spanking new sink,

and owner Patricia has been making sure it's not just for decoration.

Most of my staff have all done their food hygiene course.

We have prompt notices around to make sure that they do.

I wish I could see hand-washing done that way everywhere I go.

That was excellent. And it's well kitted out.

Yes. We didn't have any of this on our last visit.

Clean hands keep the bugs at bay.

So, we've got a staff-only toilet here.

Well-equipped, hand basin, I see.

I'll just check the hot water.

It's coming warm, it's coming hot, it's coming good.

And it's coming up roses for The Grange.

There is not only a brand-new hand basin

right in the corner of the kitchen here, which is ideally located,

but there's all the things you need, soap, towel, notices to remind staff, and the chap that's doing the cooking

in there at the moment, he clearly has been given a hygiene course and the lady keeps a supervisory

role over him, so all the boxes, as they say, are being ticked today.

So, hygiene at The Grange is looking good, but how happy will Steve be

about the food they serve to their high-risk residents?

Coming up - the Food Fighters climb on board a cruise ferry.

-What's this?

-Chocolate cake.

From mince to steak, beef burgers to pies, meat is

a dinner-time favourite for millions of people across the country.

But beef can also be a source of E. coli,

listeria, salmonella and even BSE if it isn't regulated properly.

So it's more important than ever that an army of

Food Fighters is working behind the scenes

to ensure that what ends up on our shelves

and ultimately on our forks is both good to eat and safe to eat,

and their work begins on the farm.

This is Willoughby Farm in the Lincolnshire Wolds.

Farmer Nick Beck has been rearing beef cattle here for 15 years.

These cows have been bred specifically for Morrisons supermarket.

Today their buyer Andrew Loftus is assessing eight

to decide if they're healthy and will make good British beef.

-How are you doing, Nick?

-Good. How about you?

-Good to see you again.

-Good to see you, too.

-It's always nice to be in Lincolnshire.

We've got eight beasts in total today.

Yeah, we've got five steers this side, here.

Eight heifers on the other side.

There's three heifers on the other side. Yeah. We selected these.

-I had a good idea of what you wanted.

-They look tremendous.

Andrew seems happy with the farmer's selection.

However, there's more to buying a cow than just looks.

Andrew must check each one is the animal the farmer claims it to be.

You've got their passports there, have you?

Passports here, yeah.

Yeah, that's right, cows have passports.

In the wake of BSE, Britain introduced the strictest beef regulations in the world.

Now every cow in the country must have a passport that shows everywhere it's been.

So these have been home-bred.

They've not moved off your holding?

That's the date of birth. You can there the farms where the animal was born and that's,

signed the passport when it first came on, and obviously today's date.

All set up for the movement off this afternoon.

Passports look good.

But how can Andrew tell that these passports match these animals?

The answer is in the cow's ear.

-So we've got 168 there.

-168 there, that's right, yeah.

-OK. So we've got 192 conveniently on the top.

-192.

-That's fantastic.

At birth, every cow is given a unique and permanent ID tag.

-That's a good-looking steer, isn't it?

-Nice back on it.

Nice back on it and nice bit of finish.

That's great, that's tremendous. They are a credit to you.

Thank you very much. We aim to please.

Andrew feels they're fit and healthy and will provide good-quality safe meat.

They're given the all-clear to set off to the supermarket's own abattoir.

We're just lining up the lorry ready to load the cattle, and then we will load them

in their social groups onto the lorry and then they will be off to the abattoir.

And of course, every time the cows are moved, they must have their passports with them.

Thanks very much. That's all the passports there as you see.

-Excellent stuff.

-Thank you very much, they loaded well.

-Very well.

Now the cows can begin their journey to the abattoir, the farmer's work is over.

At the slaughterhouse, the cows are let out of the truck.

And then funnelled into holding pens.

Now it's a vet who takes up the Food Fighter baton.

Joanna Millas works for the Food Standards Agency.

She must check every cow is healthy because a sick cow can equal dangerous meat.

We've been looking for any signs of abnormality,

anything that can concern us.

Everything that's here should be good quality, should be clean.

-Joanna is also looking to see that the cows are settled.

-This is really important.

After the transport they need a relaxing time which improves the quality of the meat.

A stressed cow it actually produces darker, drier meat with a shorter shelf life.

Any signs of trauma, injuries or anything that might

concern the welfare of the animal will be in our attention.

These cows are healthy.

The Food Fighters have insured they are in perfect condition and fit for us to eat.

Once the animals are slaughtered and have been hung for flavour, a whole new set of checks begins.

That's the job of Andrea Cranfield, a Government meat hygiene inspector.

There are many things that we could see on the meat, whether it be bruising from a potential welfare

issue, from pneumonia from a pathological incident,

contamination could be a main hazard to human health.

She checks the carcasses for signs of disease.

She also checks that the spinal cord and brain have been removed.

These were two areas of high risk identified after the BSE crisis.

If we did not maintain these stringent checks, then along the way

there could be potential issues which could harm human health.

Once Andrea is happy, each carcass is given the Food Standards Agency seal of approval.

This is both a health mark and serial number.

It means inspectors at the next stage can trace where the meat has come from.

The meat is butchered and is starting to look like cuts of beef we all recognise.

Now it can be packed,

and for this, it's the job of this nifty little robot.

He pops bags on the meat before the all-important vacuum pack

which keeps it safely sealed away from the bugs and bacteria.

Finally, the meat is ready for dispatch to the store,

and even here there are more safeguards.

Dispatch manager Andrew March takes over the reins.

I'm now just checking the product matches what I should be loading.

The detail I'm taking is recording the product description.

We need to check that we've got the correct product for loading.

And finally, the temperature is taken.

That's just making sure that it's within the legal limits for loading.

Obviously this is the final point that we have any contact with this pallet.

All the hard work that's gone in to maintain the cold chain, it's

important that we maintain it here, make sure it's safe for loading.

Much of this beef will go directly to our shelves as prime cuts of meat.

But for the beef destined to be burgers and mince, there's a whole new set of Food Fighters to meet.

We're checking for any foreign bodies that could be in there.

Because even though this is on an enormous scale,

it has similarities with what I do in my restaurant.

For passengers boarding a cruise ship or ferry, it's not just seasickness that's a risk.

We've all seen the stories of holiday-makers stricken with on-board food poisoning.

So ferry companies have to work hard to make sure that their passengers don't end up in the same boat.

In Newcastle, the Princess Seaways

is preparing to leave port for Amsterdam.

This evening, the crew are expecting nearly 500 diners.

And there's one man who has to make sure no-one keels over

with a bout of food poisoning.

My name is Tommy Uker,

and it's my job to make sure on board this ship all the food is safe.

The Princess has four separate restaurants serving buffets and a la carte.

Everything is made on board.

So, as head chef, there's a lot of weight on Tommy's shoulders.

And now, four hours before setting sail, the fresh supplies have arrived on board.

There's a need to take the temperature on the goods we get in.

Especially on these in the freezer and the ice cream and stuff like this

so we know we haven't been below the temperature where it's started to melt and stuff like this.

It looks fine. So if we can just get it into the provision room.

Tommy thinks he runs a pretty tight ship, but you don't have to take his word for it.

Every six months he gets a visit from this man.

Ed is the Port Health Authority ship specialist.

It's his decision as to whether this ferry is safe to sail.

I'm looking at food safety and food hygiene issues.

It carries a lot of people, this.

We must ensure their safe eating.

If Tommy's stores and galleys don't pass, then the ship could lose its licence to serve food.

Still, Tommy welcomes the outside scrutiny.

We have, I think, a solid programme on the hygiene and temperature controls and stuff like this

but of course, it's always nice to have fresh eyes to come and see once in a while

if we are not getting it all.

I hope that he says that it was looking good and that we would have been doing the things

we were supposed to do and he would go off the ship again a happy man, like I will be.

Ed wants to see everything from the galley to the stores.

You can see the floor. Brand-new. Very, very nice.

Easy to clean, easy to keep.

It's very nice.

-What's this?

-Chocolate cake.

OK, thank you.

Now, of course, we have a lot of passengers, so a little bit filled up right now.

How many crew will you have at the moment?

Right now we have 135 crew.

And how many passengers tonight?

Tonight we have 747.

When you're cooking for that many people in a confined space, everything better be shipshape.

-Five degrees.

-Yes.

Perfect.

General hygiene, good order.

If it's a mess, you see it straightaway

and then you begin to suspect something's amiss.

Now, clearly you can't plumb a cruise ferry into the mains, so it has to carry its own water.

If this water gets polluted, it's disastrous for everyone on board.

So, it's always on Ed's list to check.

Before his tests, he needs to be sure that the tap is sterile. Time to light a fire.

Created steam, so therefore it's reached 100 degrees.

No bug can survive that.

First, Ed uses his own senses.

I'm going to put it up to daylight and check that it's crystal clear.

No colours.

No smells.

Finally...

So far, so good. But to be 100% sure, Ed fills his sample bottle.

I'll know the result in two days.

If there's a serious problem, the laboratory will be on the phone

straightaway, so I can revisit the ship and find out what's gone wrong.

-Finally, there's a good look round the galley.

-Keep working, please.

The condition of some of the equipment in here is critical to

the safety of everyone on board.

These screens pull out all the airborne fats

which are coming off the cookers, and if you didn't trap the fats,

it would congeal inside the ducting of the ship,

eventually catch fire. So, these are regularly cleaned, every night,

for safety's sake.

At the end of the inspection, everything here is above board.

The inspection's gone very well, I'm pleased.

I shall be back in six months' time, unless there's a complaint

or unless the head chef wants me to come back for an issue.

-Thank you very much.

-Bye bye, Tommy.

-See you in half a year.

The Princess has sailed through the Food Fighters test.

She can now take her passengers to Holland.

But it's no holiday for Tommy.

With over 500 hungry mouths to feed, the hard work is just beginning.

Earlier, we saw the Food Fighters making sure that the beef we eat is safe.

But what happens next?

How does it end up on our shelves as mince or as burgers?

Who are the Food Fighters on hand to make sure it's safe?

To find out, I went to

one of the biggest meat-processing plants in Britain.

This is Farmers Boy,

a Morrisons fresh-food factory in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

Whilst whole cuts of meat go directly

from abattoir to supermarket,

meat that needs processing comes here first.

This is where your mince for your spaghetti bolognese is made.

This area is known as food intake.

It's where all the meat comes into the factory,

but not before it's had yet more checks.

A lorry has just arrived - let's find out what's going on.

The man overseeing those arrivals is Carl Taylor.

-Simon, how are you doing?

-Very, very good.

-Good man.

-This is chaos on the face of it.

-It's organised chaos!

Yes, undoubtedly, yeah!

-This is the first point that the meat arrives.

-Yes.

What's the first thing that happens?

This has come directly from our abattoir.

We're checking for EC codes, making sure it's European,

and particularly British.

Next, we look for all the label codes, all the date codes,

and once we're satisfied, Garfield will

take some temperature checks, make sure it's within critical limits.

'The meat has to arrive here below five degrees,

'too cold for bacteria to grow.'

-3.8.

-3.8. That's OK.

'So it's passed the temperature and the labels check,

'but there's one more test to go.

'The aptly-named visuals.'

So what are we looking for here, then, Carl?

If we look back at the label, it's clods, necks and shins.

So the next point of call is,

we're checking that the cuts of meat are what they say they are.

But also, any potential foreign bodies that could be in there.

Any gristle, any bone.

It's interesting, cos even though this is on an enormous scale,

it has similarities with what I do in my restaurant.

In fact, when we get our delivery from our butcher,

we do the same thing.

We check, is it the cut of meat that it's supposed to be? It is.

-The principles are the same, and again, we look for foreign bodies.

-Of course, yeah.

With the beef given the all-clear, it's now time to start the mincing.

This happens in conditions best described as a bit parky.

-Standing in here, it is cold.

-It is chilly, yeah.

It is really cold, and that is purely to maintain

-the quality of the meat, I assume?

-Absolutely, yeah.

To maintain the quality of the meat,

we send them through these huge mincers.

While we're mincing them,

we inject carbon dioxide in to keep it nice and cold,

so we guarantee the freshness of the product

and keep that temperature down.

So, all year round, we get this cold temperature.

-I'd struggle to work here. I'm used to hot kitchens.

-Yeah, of course.

All of the labelling at the intake,

do we still maintain a trace on where this meat has come from?

Absolutely, of course, yeah.

It's imperative, not only from a quality aspect

but also from a legal requirement.

Every ounce of information that was on that label at intake,

we assign a batch to it, each part had a number, that information

transfers and follows through every batch of mince that we do.

So you can see here on the label,

this has come through, it's come straight from

the unpacking tables from intake, through the mincers.

Every batch that comes through contains

the same information as what it had at intake.

But what's too cold for me is also too cold for the bacteria.

In fact, what's reassuring is

the care taken over a product like mince.

With labelling, it can be traced back to the farm.

The checks that are happening on something like mince,

our lowest commodity in terms of a beef product,

are exactly the same as if it were a piece of fillet steak.

-Absolutely, yeah.

-Your work is done, then?

From this point, it's then put onto lorries

and it goes straight to the store from here?

Absolutely. The supply team will pick it up from the dispatch area,

take it straight to store.

This mince is now ready for us to pick up

and fry up into a lovely homemade lasagne.

But what about those big hunks of beef

we last saw leaving the abattoir?

Well, they've now arrived at the supermarket,

but they're not quite ready for us cooks yet.

My name's Roy Craven, I'm a master butcher.

-Hi, Roy. Nice to see you.

-Hi there.

-Nice bit of topside.

Yeah, superb British beef.

It's funny, isn't it, because most consumers,

the first thing they'll see, or the only thing they'll see,

really, with beef, is this, the finished item, really.

It's packaged up, it's all ready.

But when you get the meat in, how does it arrive into store?

It arrives in store from our abattoirs in this condition,

which is vacuum packed.

As we weigh it, we enter in the information from the label.

The slaughterhouse number,

the cut plant number and batch number.

This allows us to trace it back to a batch of animals,

processed in one of our abattoirs on a certain day.

In fact, if you remember the stamp we saw at the abattoir,

it's exactly the same.

But, of course, food fighting is not just about numbers and paperwork.

Common sense plays a part, too.

The butchers check for quality and freshness and condition, basically.

What kind of things at that point would you look for, then?

You look for any signs of discolouration

or if there were foreign bodies, which is unlikely,

that's the kind of thing

-the butcher looks for.

-That's what we want.

From the minute that that animal has actually been on the farm,

we've got this great kind of checking procedure all the time.

By putting all of these procedures in place, we can further ensure

that the customer is getting exactly what they're paying for, basically.

So, whether you're buying mince or prime topside,

the Food Fighters have been there every step of the way.

And that is the reality

of the strictest beef regulations in the world.

So the next time you fancy cooking

a beautiful piece of prime rib of beef,

you can be sure it'll not only be delicious,

it'll also be safe to eat.

Still to come, has this takeaway got itself in hot water?

Handling all your raw meat, how are you washing your hands, then?

-That's a problem, actually.

-Yeah! It's a major, major problem.

Whenever you're cooking for people,

the biggest fear is always that you might make someone ill,

and the more people you cook for, the bigger the risk.

So imagine the pressure for Tommy,

the chef cooking for hundreds on board the North Sea cruise ferry.

Let's see if he's managing to keep things on an even keel.

It's early evening, and the Princess Seaways is en route to Holland.

But while the holidaymakers take in the views, below deck,

things are hotting up.

The ship's crew are preparing meals for 500 hungry mouths.

Tommy Uker is head chef,

and it's his job to make sure everything runs smoothly.

And there's a lot at stake.

It can kill people if we are not watching our procedures,

how we do this, so we are looking very much into this one,

and our procedures and our temperature control, stuff like this.

The ship can hold up to 1,200 people.

It has four restaurants,

and they're all served from the same galley kitchen.

If anything went wrong, it would be a disaster for all on board.

But making the food is only the start of it.

Tommy must also patrol the dining areas.

Two of these have buffets, including one serving up shellfish,

loved and feared by foodies in equal measures.

We pay attention to this one to make sure that the temperature

is below five degrees on this one.

We have loads of ice on it.

The important is that we keep it fresh,

and also that we make it fresh.

-We make this fresh every day.

-These present their own set of challenges.

And with so many people helping themselves,

they need to keep a beady eye out for grubby mitts.

Dirty fingers, get it on to the next one and the next one

and the next one again, so we have to pay attention to all of this.

We're changing it all the time on this one here.

So, as soon as we can see now it's getting low,

new people coming in, get it out, get some new one in.

And on the pint-size stall, food and cutlery is constantly on the move.

The kid is, like, a height like this, so, sneezing and stuff like this,

so it's also in an area where we pay more attention, we change a lot more.

Over the course of five hours, 500 diners are fed and watered.

From steaks to seafood, pasta to puddings,

Tommy is there every step of the way.

But finally, the long shift is over.

It's the next morning, and the ferry has arrived safely in Holland.

But as the holidaymakers continue their travels,

for Tommy it starts all over again,

with a new batch of produce to check...

It's good, very nice, fresh.

And another ferry full of diners waiting to be served.

We will try to keep up with the demand from the guests

and keep on developing our standards and our quality.

Hot water is a legal requirement in any professional kitchen.

It's needed to clean surfaces, not to mention pots and pans.

On top of that, when you're handling raw meat

it's absolutely vital for washing food poisoning nasties away.

So when an inspector stumbles across a business without a hot tap,

they need to act fast.

The West End of London.

And at this new Mexican takeaway,

Sarah Quinn is taking a stand for food hygiene.

She's been unimpressed by lacklustre cleaning...

Dirty tea towels.

A lack of hot water...

And mouse droppings.

Now it's time for a showdown with the manager.

But not before a few pleasantries.

Hello.

Nice to meet you.

-I'm Sarah.

-Nice to meet you, Sarah.

The manager is keen to stress all the good things

they've done in a rodent-ridden part of the world.

Before this place was taken, it was a complete mess.

It was, yeah.

-It had rats...

-I've seen the reports, yes.

We changed a lot and we spent a lot of money

trying to prevent all these things.

Positives - going in the right direction, lot of paperwork,

well organised, like it.

Major concern I have is

you've got mouse droppings on your preparation surface.

That's only from the ceiling, it's not really from...

You've got mouse droppings on your rolling pin.

It's probably from the ceiling, because when the phone line,

they came to install it, a lot of...from the top.

-What I need to make sure is...

-There really hasn't been any pests.

Every morning, add to your opening checklist,

every morning come in, clean your surfaces down, spray, sanitise,

remove any signs of mice.

As well as cleaning,

this takeaway must stop the mice coming in.

Previously, they'd been advised to mouse-proof their ceiling,

yet they haven't acted on that advice.

Well, the last pest-control report was 16th February,

and two weeks ago they said there was still evidence of mice on site

and you still need to do the blocking of the ceiling.

But that was the one time after six months they saw one mouse,

in Central London, next to a train station.

And before that, six months ago, every day they had five, six mice.

We can have the conversation go back and forth and you can give me

as many excuses as you want, and to be honest,

you're not helping your cause by trying to give me excuses.

What I want you to be saying to me is,

"Yes, Sarah, I'm going to get this in,

"I'm going to block the holes, I'm going to take the advice

"on my pest-control, and we're going to sort it out."

But that's not all.

Sarah must confront the manager with another food no-no.

Relations are getting a little chilly.

What's happened to your hot water?

The hot water hasn't been working for two days.

There's a problem with the drain as well.

We wrote on the board, we've got someone coming this week, hopefully.

When?

We've called the guy, he should be coming maybe today, tomorrow.

Having no hot water is a huge, huge risk.

-It's only been a few days, though.

-But it shouldn't be a few days.

What about handling raw meat, how are you washing your hands?

What do you mean, how are we washing them?

Well, you've got your raw meat, you pick up your raw meat,

what are we doing about the raw meat juice on our hands, then?

-After we wrap it?

-Yeah.

-That's a problem, actually.

-Yeah, it's a major, major problem.

Raw chicken can cause salmonella and campylobacter.

The best way to avoid this danger is hot hand-washing,

so Sarah tells the manager he must get his boiler repaired,

but he's going to have to work hard to win her round.

Not happy, really, with what I'm seeing.

Just the reaction from the food business operator,

he really hadn't considered the risks,

yet he's been operating for two days now without hot water.

If it's public eating here, it's public health he's putting at risk.

Sarah can't let this takeaway serve without any hot water,

so our Food Fighter suggests a voluntary closure

to give the manager time to get the boiler fixed.

I'm thinking, would an option be,

to make sure that the food you're serving to your customers is safe,

you make the decision to shut shop and not serve any food

until you've got things back up and running?

But how does that affect now the food that's going to be

serving, the hot water?

Well, you've got to stop serving it, but that's your choice.

I'm not going to say you have to do that.

It's tough for a small business to lose a day's takings,

and waste a lot of food.

So, as the manager is understandably reluctant,

Sarah suggests another way that will allow him to stay open,

for today at least.

Right, well let's get hot water on our little kettle for now.

-Are you going to borrow next door's big kettle?

-Yes.

Right, go and fill that, get some hot water,

let's get something on site now.

The manager brings in the hot water reinforcements.

What we'll do is you can mix a little bit of hot water

and a bit of cold water so it's actually going to be good enough to put your hands in.

-Yeah, not too hot.

-Which then needs to be replenished regularly.

The manager and Sarah have worked through the good...

the bad...

and the ugly,

and they've come up with a compromise.

Could have gone a lot better.

He's going to start making improvements, which is good.

I've asked him to provide some written confirmation

that he's had the engineer in to look at the boiler, that it is fixable,

what work is required and when it's going to be done by.

If he hasn't done that, I'm definitely going to get them

to serve an improvement notice, which will give them

a set period of time to get the hot water back on.

We'll monitor them closely, and I'll come back in a week

to make sure that the cleaning's improved, mice have been removed

and the hot water is back on.

Um... Yes.

From the bustling West End...

to the sleepy Westcliff in Southend.

And it's dinner time at The Grange residential home.

So far, Inspector Steve Ram has been delighted

with general hygiene and their new hand basin.

Now he wants to make sure owner Patricia is dealing

with the high risks facing the diners here.

Here is a home, and there will be some more elderly people, am I right in thinking?

Most of my residents are 50 to 60, I do have a few older ones,

so there are extra, but because we've got older ones

we tend to apply that rule across the board for everyone.

Right, because you will obviously know that some bacteria are,

for some reason, acting more harmfully with the older people,

listeria being a case in point.

Listeria is a bacteria that causes an infection,

which in its invasive form can be fatal.

People with weakened immune systems are most at risk,

including the elderly and pregnant women.

Listeria is generally found in chilled, ready-to-eat foods,

like soft cheese, cooked meat and pate.

The key to avoiding risks is good refrigeration,

so is Patricia keeping her vulnerable diners safe?

Right, I got a reading of three there and four there,

so that's good, it's a nice cool temperature.

We were talking about listeria being particularly important

with older people, and it's one that likes colder temperatures,

so, although the legal temperature is not above eight,

making sure that it's hopefully four and below is best,

and that's what we have got here, so I'm pleased.

The final part of the inspection is for Steve to test the staff.

Before I finish, I need to speak to you as well,

because I've seen there are systems that are written down,

but you're doing a lot of the food preparation today.

Time for Maxwell the chef to face a quiz.

So, question number one...

A cold food,

what sort of temperature are you looking for in the refrigerator?

About five?

Not over eight, seven, something like that?

Exactly, eight's the legal temperature, five is better.

On to number two.

Have you any idea what temperature it ought to reach as a hot food,

to say that it's killed bacteria?

I'd say about 70.

Yes, 78 would be good, but 75 is enough.

-And at the end of the test it's full marks.

-Thank you.

All seems good to me, thank you for your time.

The chef may have passed, but how has The Grange done overall?

The Food Fighters mark every kitchen out of five,

and The Grange is currently on a mid-range three.

Have they improved?

You've not only shown me your system,

you've explained it very well, so put those together,

and you are just into what we call the top "very good" category,

I'm pleased to say.

Oh, wonderful, thank you very much.

It's nice to know all our hard work has paid off.

Well, we like to see people rewarded for the improvements that they make.

Thanks to the work of the Food Fighters,

the residents of The Grange are now dining in a five-star establishment every day of the week.

And here's the new one.

Right, so sticky side there, replace it with a five.

Thank you very much.

I'm very pleased.

Sarah Quinn did return to the West End takeaway,

and the ceiling still hadn't been fixed properly.

She also had to talk to the manager again about general cleaning,

but the good news is that the boiler was fixed and the hot water was

back on, and Sarah and her team will continue to work with them.

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