PoPulationand Public HealtH etHics

practice
Case
The Inquiry found that the outbreak occurred because of a “significant
disregard for food safety” by the butchery, which had grossly inadequate procedures
and had falsified records and lied to inspectors. It was highly critical
of the food-safety inspection and enforcement approaches undertaken by
the local government, which allowed these breaches to occur over a number
of years without adequate intervention. These regulatory failures included:
» Senior government staff responsible for food-safety activities had no
experience with food-safety regimes and inspection processes. They
did not sufficiently appreciate their food-safety responsibilities and
did not have a system in place to monitor staff performance or to
provide guidance on inspection protocols.
» Due to frequent staff changes, the inspectors employed were relatively
inexperienced and had relatively little knowledge of HaCCP (hazard
analysis critical control points — a key food-safety management approach)
and its application to meat processing operations.
» The quality of the inspections undertaken was not monitored and
inspection practices varied greatly between inspectors, resulting in
inadequate inspections.
» There was no system of “red flagging” particular issues of concern
from past inspections, resulting in the inadequate monitoring of
ongoing issues.
» Inspectors issued warning letters, but did not follow up through serving
Improvement Notices or taking substantive regulatory action. 1
These failures were compounded by annual decreases in the staffing budget,
difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualified staff and an increasing
inspection load. This resulted in an inability to meet inspection targets and
the engagement of consultants to cover staff vacancies.
Overall, the Inquiry concluded that, if the inspections and regulatory process
were undertaken appropriately, the food-hygiene failures at the butchery
would have been identified and addressed. This case therefore highlights failures
in both oversight/regulatory ethics and professional ethics.
PoPulation anD Public HealtH etHics
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