More than a third of chefs and other caterers do not wash their hands after going to the toilet at work, according to a new survey.
The survey was carried out by the government's Food Standards Agency (FSA). It asked more than 1,000 chefs, waiters and other food staff about their hygiene practices.
The FSA discovered that knowledge of food hygiene was very poor among some workers and that many basic hygiene practices were being ignored.
Among the survey's startling discoveries was that 39 per cent of caterers admitted they do not bother to wash their hands after going to the toilet at work - something that could easily result in the spread of dangerous bacteria.
Similarly more than half the chefs and other kitchen workers surveyed do not wash their hands before starting work.
The full results of the survey are due to be released later this week but the initial findings prove that proper food hygiene training is essential for caterers.
The survey was carried out among small and medium sized catering businesses and included many pubs.
It is part of the FSA's five year food hygiene campaign which aims to reduce cases of food poisoning by 20 per cent by 2006.
Launched earlier this year the campaign will target several different areas over the five years.
The next part of the campaign will focus on food hygiene training among caterers.
The FSA is sending an eight-minute training video to more than 300,000 pubs, restaurants, cafes and hotels in the next month. The video is not designed to replace food hygiene training but instead to raise awareness of the issues among staff.
It highlights the four Cs - cleanliness, cross contamination, chilling and cooking and is accompanied by an information booklet and warning stickers for commercial kitchens.
The campaign will also be supported by television advertising that shows how easy it to spread bacteria around a catering kitchen.
The four Cs
- Make sure everyone who handles food washes their hands properly
- Clean food areas and equipment between different tasks
- Clean as you go and mop up spills when they happen
Cross contaminationKeep raw and cooked foods apart
ChillingPut food that needs to be chilled in the fridge straightaway. Cool cooked food as quickly as possibleKeep chilled food out of the fridge for the shortest possible timeDon't overload the fridge
CookingDon't serve any food that isn't properly cookedOnce food is cooked serve it immediately or keep it hot until serving