South Downs National Park – Update
Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) recently announced the national members appointed to the South Downs National Park Authority. The appointees are:
- Sir Sebastian Anstruther;
- Kenneth Bodfish, OBE;
- Jeremy Leggett;
- Margaret Paren;
- Sue Saville;
- Thomas Tupper;
- Susan Warren.
A further 20 members appointed from County, Unitary, Borough and District Councils, which equates to one for each of the councils affected by the National Park, the twenty also includes six representatives from Parish and Town Councils.
These voluntary appointments will begin on 1 April and will run for three or four years, at the end of which they will be eligible for re-appointment. The appointments coincide with the Authority will come into being, subject to the agreement of Parliament, although full statutory responsibilities will not be assumed until the following April.
The primary role of the Authority will be to promote National Park purposes, which are to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area and to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the South Downs National Park to the public.
The Authority will work to encourage the social and economic wellbeing of the local communities within the Park by working in partnership with organisations from across the area for the benefit of the South Downs National Park and those who live, work and enjoy the area.
Many of you may recall the involvement of the region in the early stages of the consultation with DEFRA and it is this partnership we are keen to continue through the work of the South Downs Expedition Assessor Network. Members of the network have been influential in both the development of the National Park and local access committees. This involvement has ensured that the views of young people have been voiced in the development of the Authority and their needs considered.
If you are planning a visit to the South Downs National Park as part of your DofE Expedition the South Downs Expedition Assessor Network is able to offer various support please visit
www.southdownsdofe.co.uk for more information.
Cookout Expedition Food Courses
Food Hygiene on Expedition
Food is major part to a successful trip, so an outbreak of food poisoning could be disastrous. Helen Littlejohn from Cookout gives some advice on the importance of good food hygiene.
Imagine you’re running a residential course for 50 college students. The group are cooking for themselves and a student is sick on the first day; but you don’t send them home. Gradually more students and staff have sickness and diarrhoea. It affects group morale and curtails your activities, so you have to come home early. Parents are unhappy and the college reputation damaged.
Could this happen to you? Last year 72,000 people had food poisoning in the UK, with a cost to employers and the NHS of £750m (source: Health Protection Agency).
The Food Safety Act 1990 made it an offence for anyone to process food which is harmful to health, whether charging for the food or not. The Food Hygiene Regulations (England) 2006 and Regulation (EC) No.852/2004 state that you must have written procedures in place to prove what you do to make food safe to eat.
For outdoor leaders, you have a legal responsibility to ensure food is safe to eat, whether you are cooking for the group or the group cook for themselves. You are breaking the law if you do not have a written risk assessment on food hygiene or cannot prove you have done some food hygiene training with your group. You could be taken to court over an outbreak of food poisoning. Environmental Health suggest leaders should also have a basic food hygiene certificate. You might like to use these 4 Cs to brief the group: cross contamination, cleaning, cooking and chilling.
Cross contamination is one of the most common causes of food poisoning, where bacteria is spread between food, surfaces and equipment. Raw food touches ready-to-eat food and dirty hands can infect fridge doors, taps and light switches. Keep raw and ready-to-eat food separate by using different chopping boards and utensils and store raw food at the bottom of the fridge.
14/08/09