Food Safety Record

Escherichia coli O157:H7 United Kingdom ยท 1996 to 1997

E. coli O157 outbreak linked to cooked meat from a butcher, central Scotland, 1996 to 1997

A UK government paper to the FAO and WHO Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators said 496 cases were linked to the outbreak in central Scotland, with 21 deaths among elderly people, 17 of them confirmed as directly resulting from infection. It attributed the outbreak to contamination of cooked meat at a butcher's, citing very poor hygiene and cross contamination between raw and cooked meat. The Secretary of State for Scotland told Parliament in November 1996 that Professor Hugh Pennington would chair an expert group. A Fatal Accident Inquiry report in August 1998 found that six deaths could have been prevented, as reported by the Irish Times.1,2,3

496Cases
21Deaths

Counts as reported on January 2002.1 Food vehicle: Cooked meat and meat products from a butcher's shop in Wishaw, including stewed beef served at a church lunch.

Timeline

  1. Food hazard warning issued to local authorities, according to the Secretary of State for Scotland.2
  2. Michael Forsyth, Secretary of State for Scotland, told the House of Commons that 132 cases had been reported and five elderly people had died, and announced an expert group chaired by Professor Hugh Pennington.2
  3. Deaths linked to the outbreak continued until June 1997, according to the Irish Times.3
  4. Sheriff Principal Graham Cox published the Fatal Accident Inquiry report.3

Regulatory and legal outcomes

  1. Fatal Accident Inquiry, Sheriff Principal Graham Cox (as reported by the Irish Times). Found that six deaths could have been prevented had the butcher responded fully and honestly to environmental health officers, and that health officers should have detected the poor practices.3
  2. Pennington Group (as summarised by the UK government). Recommended HACCP throughout the food chain, hygiene measures on farms, a licensing system for all butchers and greater enforcement of controls in butchers.1

Sources

  1. United Kingdom, FAO/WHO Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators, Escherichia coli O157:H7 Outbreak in Scotland in 1996/97 (Conference Room Document GF/CRD UK-1) (January 2002)
  2. UK Parliament, Hansard, E. coli (Scotland), House of Commons debate (28 November 1996)
  3. The Irish Times, Butcher's deception factor in 21 food poisoning deaths (20 August 1998)