Public health expert criticises 'irresponsible' TV hygiene standards

A public health expert has spoken of her frustration over the standards of hygiene in cookery programmes on television.

Dr Layla Jader, who works at the National Public Health Service for Wales, told the British Medical Association's annual conference that she thinks it is "irresponsible" to allow viewers to see chefs preparing unwashed salad.

She said: "I've seen it so many times. They open the bag and make the salad from unwashed vegetables. It's irresponsible. In Ready Steady Cook they cut the salad from the window sill. They also get the bag and open it on the table. I think we have to remember there are impressionable young people watching."

She said people copying the errors were at risk from illnesses such as salmonella. A BBC spokeswoman said: "Before contestants are allowed to cook they are thoroughly briefed by our qualified home economists on all aspects of hygienic food preparation."