A report reviewing the food hygiene challenges of replacing single-use packaging items with reusables in the food service sector has emphasised that the transfer of foodborne disease “remains a clear and present hazard” to consumers. 

The report by Dr David A McDowell, Emeritus Professor of Food Studies at the University of Ulster and former Deputy Chairman of the UK Food Standards Agency’s Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF), reviews the scientific evidence regarding a wide range of cross-contamination hazards. These extend from the suitability of the dishwashers used in bars and small food outlets for sterilising items to the complexity of managing returned reusable items, which can present bacterial, viral and fungal hazards for outlet staff and consumers. The risks of cross-contamination from carrier bag reuse for Ready-To-Eat and takeaway foods among others are also highlighted.

Professor McDowell notes that reuse systems are inherently more complex than single use systems, involving multi-location cleaning, sanitation, storage and transport, which increase the risks of cross contamination and “may also make it more difficult to track and suppress outbreaks of food borne illness and/or carry out related food product recalls”. He emphasises that the methods required to counter the risks inherent in reuse systems are already known but need to be applied effectively and consistently not just by businesses but also by consumers. At the same time, he identifies a range of “circumstances in which the continued use of single-use packaging and service ware provides the only feasible option for maintaining adequate food hygiene, public health and consumer safety.”

The report’s Executive Summary therefore stresses that “Banning or reducing the use of food service disposables, in the absence of radical significant and unprecedented changes in good hygiene practice, will lead to greater persistence and circulation of foodborne pathogens within the human food chain, and increased risks of human foodborne illness in our community. 

“Those rushing to replace food service disposables with reusable food service ware may need to think long and hard about the unexpected consequences in relation to increased foodborne illness among consumers, and potential litigation damages sought from food businesses involved in the more complex processes around the use of reusable food service items.”

In response, the European Paper Packaging Alliance (EPPA) is urging EU food and public health authorities to play an active role in policy debates on reusable packaging systems, and for national food agencies to protect consumers by providing businesses with detailed and specific guidance to minimise both the presence and transfer of bacteria, fungi and viruses.

The full report is available here