Teams of staff from City of York Council and Marks and Spencer will be promoting National Food Safety Week on Friday (June 14) with an assault on shoppers' carrier bags!

The supermarket at Pavement has agreed to back the annual food safety campaign - which this year runs between Monday (June 10) and Sunday (June 16) - by inserting food safety information and a free hand wipe in plastic bags for two hours over lunchtime on Friday.

Councillor Derek Smallwood, the council's executive member for the environment, will also join staff from the council's Food and Safety Unit and M and S staff to help spread the safety message at the store.

Children from schools across York have also been involved in this year's event by taking part in a national food safety poster competition.

National Food Safety Week is run by Foodlink whose members include the Food and Drink Federation, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Officers, Food Standards Agency, Department of Health, DEFRA and local councils.

This tenth year of the campaign features a general food safety focus, with food safety messages dealing with safe storage, temperature control, avoiding cross contamination, kitchen cleanliness and hand washing.

Anyone visiting Marks and Spencer's 'Food to Go' tills at lunchtime on Friday will get a food safety leaflet along with a reference to food safety week and a contact number for the council's Food and Safety Unit.

Rachel Perks, one of the council's senior food and safety officers, said, "The figures for food poisoning in Britain are consistently high and education is essential to its prevention. Food safety protects everyone but poor food hygiene threatens health, reputations, profits and jobs.

"Besides Food Safety Week we work throughout the year to address food and safety issues and our team of environmental health officers, trading standards officers and food and safety technicians deal with most issues including food complaints, carrying out food hygiene inspections and food standards inspections and promoting good practice."

Councillor Smallwood said, "I am delighted that Marks and Spencer are getting involved with us in this campaign. We value their continuing support for the work we do.

"As our recently-launched Curry Competition shows the council works with businesses across the city to raise standards. We are all keen to also encourage residents to think about food safety and take the issue just as seriously at home."

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