'Celebrity' chefs will be dish of the day at Royal Welsh Show
Thursday 17 July 2003
Food hygiene howlers and CD-Rom launch on the menu at Food Standards Agency Wales stand
Ref: WA25/03KC
The Food Standards Agency Wales will be dishing up a three-course menu of fun at this year's Royal Welsh Show, with 'celebrity' cookery competition Bad Food Live! the highlight.
'Celebrity' chefs Ritchie Twist (‘One Fit Laddie') and Bernard Le Blanc ('Unready, Unsteady, Drink!') will be engaging in a battle of wits in a cookery competition littered with food hygiene errors. Members of the audience will have the opportunity to win prizes for spotting the food hygiene howlers committed by the hapless stars, and the chefs and show host Megan Bacon will be performing throughout the day, every day from the Agency’s exhibition stand at 326, Avenue D.
Despite the lighthearted approach, food poisoning is no laughing matter. In a recent survey*, 11 per cent of people interviewed in Wales said they had experienced a bout of diarrhoea or vomiting in the previous 12 months*. For most of us, this sort of illness is an unpleasant and unwelcome experience but for some vulnerable people - such as children, the elderly and pregnant women – the effects can be far more serious. One of the Agency's key priorities is to reduce the incidence of food related illness by 20 per cent by 2006.
In addition to the exploits of Ritchie and Bernard, Welsh Assembly Government First Minister Rhodri Morgan AM will be launching the Agency’s new 'Gimme 5' CD-Rom on Monday (10am). 'Gimme 5!’ aims to encourage 11-14 year olds to increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables, and the pack of computer games and screen savers is endorsed by former 110-metre hurdles world champion Colin Jackson.
Besides Bad Food Live! and the launch of 'Gimme 5!', there will be ample opportunity for show visitors to hop on board the Agency's stand and play on the interactive computer games. Children, parents and grandchildren are welcome to beat the barbecue bugs, build a healthy breakfast and learn about the balance of good health on a series of computer programmes based on healthy eating and food safety.
Speaking before the show Steve Wearne, Director, Food Standards Agency Wales, said:
'The high number of food poisoning incidents within Wales and the rest of the UK continues to be a concern for the Food Standards Agency, but many can easily be avoided by good food hygiene practice. The Bad Food Live! show and our nutrition and food safety computer games will allow us to promote important messages in an entertaining but educational way.
'I am also delighted that First Minister Rhodri Morgan will be launching our 'Gimme 5!' game at the show. We know that too many Welsh children and young people are failing to eat a healthy, balanced diet and we hope to attract many youngsters and families onto our stand during the week.'
* Food Standards Agency Consumer Attitudes to Food Survey - Wales, 2002
Notes To Editors
- 'Gimme 5!' will be distributed to secondary schools across Wales in the next few weeks, and will also be available on this web site.
- Bad Food Live! performances will run throughout the day, every day of the Royal Welsh Show in Welsh and English.
- Increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables throughout the population of Wales, and particularly amongst young people, women of child bearing age, middle-aged men and other vulnerable groups is a key objective of the Food Standards Agency and National Assembly's Nutrition Strategy for Wales. 'Food and Wellbeing', launched in February this year, is a framework for action to improve the Welsh diet. The Agency's production and distribution of 'Gimme 5!' Is contributes to that framework.
- The other agencies involved in the creation of the 'Gimme 5!' Game are Cardiff-based marketing and advertising agency Golley Slater, and new media-agency Sequence.
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Email: caroline.kitson@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk