Fast food a haven for bacteria says survey

FAST-FOOD LOVERS could be munching something nasty when they tuck into a kebab, burger or pizza, according to a new report.

A survey for Consumers' Association's Health Which? found "unsatisfactory" levels of bacteria in different types of convenience food when it carried out tests on 40 burgers, 35 portions of chips, 25 pieces of fried chicken, 30 doner kebabs and 20 pizza slices. The report looked at big-name chains such as McDonald's and Burger King as well as independent shops and smaller chains.

Kebabs were the main risk to health with one doner kebab containing "unsatisfactory levels" of two types of food-poisoning bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. Listeria poisoning can cause, in the worst cases, septicaemia, meningitis and miscarriages in pregnant women while staphylococcus can cause severe vomiting and abdominal cramps.

Other results pointed to poor food hygiene, said the report. "One pizza slice from Pizza Hut had low levels of the food-poisoning bacteria Clostridium perfringens," said the report. In another case, "Three burgers and two kebabs were found to contain another type of listeria."

Twelve doner kebabs and three burgers (including one from McDonald's) contained levels of bacteria known as coliforms that may indicate poor hygiene standards.

They also found that two kebabs contained unsatisfactory levels of E.coli bacteria, although not the potentially fatal strain.

Pizza Hut and McDonald's assured their customers last night that there were no health risks linked to their products.

"We took the matter seriously and immediately conducted a thorough investigation," said a spokesman for McDonald's. "Our own test results for coliforms were very satisfactory and we continue to monitor food safety and hygiene in all our restaurants to ensure the highest standards at all times."

A Pizza Hut spokesman said: "The very low level of bacteria found on the pizza slice was well below that required to cause food poisoning."

He added that the outlet in question had undergone a thorough quality review using an independent laboratory and there had been no findings of similar bacteria.In a table of average values reported by Health Which?, McDonald's was found to have the lowest weight burger at 90g, compared with an average of 170g from the 23 independent retailers surveyed. In the survey of chips or French fries, Wendy's burger chain provided the lowest average weight per portion at 45g while McDonald's were second from the bottom at 75g.

The survey also warned about high levels of fat and calorific value contained in some products. It concluded: "Brands do vary. Basic burgers ranged from 200 calories to 560 calories, and the big chains were generally the better options."