TONY Cook, of J. E. Cook Ltd., Ormskirk Road, Rainford is the first butcher to be licensed in St Helens after receiving his special certificate from St Helens Council's Chief Environmental Health Officer, Steve Massey.
To qualify for the licence, a butcher has to meet a high standard of food hygiene which includes a documented hazard analysis system. All staff must be trained in food hygiene with at least one trained to a higher standard.
Butchers are required to licence their businesses by November 1 this year and all butchers in the borough should have received an application form. If not, they should contact the council's Environmental Health Section on 01744 456376. Applications should be returned as soon as possible.
The legislation was introduced after a serious outbreak of E coli 0157 food poisoning in Scotland in which 9 elderly people died after eating cooked products supplied by a local butcher.
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