E.coli report criticised

LONDON - A government report into the E

LONDON - A government report into the E.coli food poisoning outbreak which claimed 18 lives in Scotland last year is expected to call for a major overhaul in British food safety regulations.

But the final report into what has been Britain's worst recorded outbreak of E.coli 0157 food poisoning was being criticised even before its official release for not going far enough.

The expected new safeguards, including the strict separation of raw and cooked meat, could threaten many of Britain's 12,000 small butcher shops, it was reported in the press yesterday.