Hi Sarah
Yes I have come across this before and I spoke to one of the local Public Health Consultants and his words were 'faecal fishing' a pointless exercise unless someone is displaying symptoms! I have also worked somewhere where anyone in high care returning from specific holidays, eg trekking in Nepal etc., were routinely tested on their return, even if symptom free.
It is fairly common practice in the food industry to complete a questionnaire on return from foreign holiday, one of our customers, a major supermarket, is quite emphatic that we complete them. If we are concerned about anyone's health on their return they work in a low risk area for 48 hours and then return to high risk if still clear...its the same as if they experienced symptoms on holiday and depending on where they holidayed they would be moved to low care, ie uncooked product, for 48 hours and if they remained symptom free then they moved back to their high care role.
As far as anything outside the EU it doesn't matter where they have been if they have symptoms we err on the side of caution.
Check out the Food Standards Agency Website and look for Food Handlers Fitness For Work
Hope this helps
Amanda
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sarah Witwicka
Sent: 23 November 2011 12:37
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [OCC-HEALTH] Stool specimens from food handlers?
Hi all
I'm putting my hands up now; I have no idea about this one, hence my asking all of you. I have no shame. If my question makes any one of you laugh out loud, I've not got a problem with it.
Anyhoo, I had a conversation with the head of catering here yesterday. He thinks that any/every food handler working here should be required to provide a stool specimen on their return from annual leave if they have travelled outside of the EU. I'm talking regardless if they come back fit and healthy; they should still be required to provide a stool sample. I was quite shocked, I have to say. I said: we don't do that here. Their retort was something along the lines of "there's quite a lot of things you don't do here...".
After much googling I came across a document on the web that looked military in origin saying something along the lines of testing civillian food handlers' stools on return from travel as a routine practice. I then called the head of catering and asked him if he was ex-military. He said he wasn't, but has a strong background in the commercial food industry. He also said that he would send me something on the subject, but hasn't as yet.
My question is: has ANYONE come across this sort of practice as standard? Is it written in to a food handlers' contract that they do this? How?
S :-)
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