The fine of £55,000 imposed on a Dublin caterer by the district court for what seems, on the evidence given by the prosecution, to have been the most blatant violation of elementary food hygiene rules, will, it is hoped, send shock waves through the industry. Standards, no doubt, are in many cases exemplary; but few people have not heard anecdotal accounts of nasty happenings in the most exalted kitchens, while lower down the scale, at fast food outlets and casual snack purveyors, very often the mishandling of food served at the counter is a matter of visible routine.
If the prosecution against Mr Michael Lawlor by the Eastern Health Board - and the heavy fine - herald a determination by the authorities to clamp down on abuses, there will be general support from the public. The BSE crisis has only helped to focus the concern people have about what they eat. Some years ago, when a junior British minister talked about the prevalence of salmonella in eggs, she virtually decimated the industry overnight (and was fired for her honesty). But deficiencies in individual food outlets are more insidious: customers rarely have an opportunity to see behind the scenes, and except in major crises like the tragic outbreak of food poisoning deaths at Wishaw in Scotland, the effects of eating contaminated food are usually transient and difficult to pinpoint.
All the more reason why the industry itself, and those responsible for administering the health regulations, should see that high standards are maintained. There are many in built problems: staff in some sectors of catering are untrained, uninterested in permanent employment, and ill motivated because of low wages. Employers often want to keep things that way, hiring, and firing with gay abandon, keen to cut corners and maximise the unit take, and with no vested interest in developing staff security or loyalty through structured pay scales. There are, of course, many exceptions, but catering, particularly in the fast food area, is a precarious trade, and attracts many short term operators whose ambition outruns their business sense and ability to manage or acquire adequate finance.
Inspections in such circumstances are necessarily a hit and miss affair. How often are they the result of complaints from the public or based on other indications that the regulations are being breached? The court reports carried from time to time in this and other newspapers, reveal a litany of dead flies, mice, grease and dirt in public areas and kitchens in cases where there have been prosecutions. Fines have been imposed and promises of improvement given. Yet it is difficult to resist the impression that only the top of the iceberg is visible, and that the real situation is far from satisfactory.
This is not good for public health and it is not good for tourism. The scale of the problem is undoubtedly falsified by the fact that many cases are not reported, either because or inertia or because people who suffer from mild sickness do not connect it with a quick bought snack. Determination on the part of caterers and officials to keep the spirit and the letter of the regulations is also vital. And if all else fails, a few hefty fines on violators may help to encourage the others to greater efforts.