Although it might be thought that most cases of food-borne illnesses (more commonly called "food poisoning") originate outside the home, namely in catering establishments, the majority of food-borne illness cases reported occur in households.

This statement was made by the Director of the Environmental Health Directorate Clive Tonna. Earlier this week, The Malta Independent on Sunday was invited to tour the Directorate's accredited laboratory testing premises in Evans' Buildings, Valletta and this newsroom had a closer look at the process involved in the testing of food and water.

Among those present for the tour were Parliamentary Secretary for Health Chris Fearne and Principal Medical Laboratory Scientist Renato Zerafa.

Mr Tonna said that reports of food poisoning after large functions such as wedding receptions were on the decline, pointing out that, as a rule, the kitchens of catering establishments in Malta and Gozo are "generally clean". This could be the result of the legal requirement that all food handlers undertake a course in food hygiene.

He said that, where catering establishments are concerned, each case is treated on an individual basis if food is found to be contaminated. During 2014, a total of 213 food-related charges were made by Environmental Health Officers, and 15 food business operators were served with an Emergency Control Order - meaning that part of their premises or food business operation was closed down or suspended until remedial action had been taken. 

No food businesses were served with an Emergency Prohibition Order during 2014, but two have been closed down so far this year.

Over 5,500 improvement notices in terms of the Food Safety Act were issued to food business operators by Environmental Health Officers in 2014.

As for the testing of sea water, Mr Zerafa explained that it is vital for this to be closely monitored in order to safeguard public health. Such regular monitoring helps reduce the work load and financial burden on other health departments, since contaminated sea water can cause various infections, obliging people to go to health centres or Mater Dei Hospital.

The most common complaints caused by swimming in contaminated water are gastrointestinal (dysentery), respiratory infections and infections of the ear, nose or throat.

Mr Zerafa said that over 4,000 tests had been carried out in some 87 bathing sites. Samples are taken during the bathing season - ie between 18 May and 18 October.

Mr Tonna pointed out that an extra 10 beaches - which are dog-friendly - are also tested. While testing on the 87 beaches is carried out once a week, testing of dog-friendly beaches is done once a fortnight, more frequently than the every four weeks stipulated by the EU.

 

Malta scores high points in bathing water quality report

Last week, Malta was at the top of the list for quality of EU bathing waters, hence Mr Fearne's visit to the laboratory which is responsible for, among other things, ensuring that our sea water is safe to swim in.

In its report, the European Commission said that all the bathing sites in Malta were of excellent quality. Ninety-five per cent of the bathing sites monitored in the EU met the minimum standards for water quality in 2014. Water quality was excellent at 83 per cent of sites, an increase of almost one percentage point compared to 2013. Along with Malta, Cyprus and Luxembourg were also rated among the top of the list for excellent water quality.

Other countries with a high proportion of places with excellent bathing water quality are Greece (96 per cent), Croatia (94 per cent) and Germany (90 per cent).

Across Europe, just under two per cent of bathing sites failed to meet the Bathing Water Directive's minimum standards for water quality and were rated "poor".

The European Commission compared the quality of bathing water sampled at more than 21,000 coastal and inland bathing sites across the EU, Switzerland and Albania in 2014. Malta's bathing water rating has been high ever since a number of sewage treatment plants along the coast that treat all sewage were built some years back with the result that no raw sewage is pumped into the sea.

On this point, Mr Fearne told this newsroom that he welcomes the fact that Malta ranked among the countries with excellent quality water which, he said, showed that sea water monitoring is taking place in Malta frequently. He said that more than 4,000 tests from some 87 beaches not only help sustain our tourism sector but, more importantly, safeguards people's health and the public can be assured that the water they swim in is safe.

 

Accredited laboratory uses microplate technology

The laboratory itself, Mr Zerafa said, is equipped with a number of safety measures such as Access Control to laboratory areas, safety cabinets to safeguard the workers and a HEPA filtered air supply and exhaust Category 3 area to ensure that no bacteria can escape from the lab.

The lab uses microplate technology - by which a sample is inoculated and then incubated at the appropriate temperature as recommended in the respective ISO method. This technology, which has evolved over the years, helps scientific personnel determine whether the quality of sea water is according to EU standards. The bacteria looked for in water are primarily Escherichia coli and Enterococci. If E. coli is present in the sample, this is demonstrated by the detection of β-glucoronidase which is produced by most E. coli strains. The substrate MUG (4-methyl-umbellifery-β-D-glucoronide) is present in dehydrated form in the 96 well microplate and after incubation at 44°C for 36 hours (minimum) to 72 hours (maximum). E. coli produces blue fluorescence which is detected under UV radiation. The E. coli count corresponding to the number of fluorescent wells is provided by a statistical table. This indicates that the water is contaminated. Once bacteria are detected, results are communicated and the necessary actions are taken immediately," the laboratory officer said.

Mr Zerafa meanwhile explained that all the samples submitted are marked with a unique laboratory number that ensures the confidentiality of the establishment from where the sample was lifted but allows all samples to be traced.