Health watchdog issues kebab shop contamination warning

The Guardian reports that one in 20 kebab shop salads and sauces are contaminated with health-threatening levels of bacteria, including E coli and salmonella. This is according to an HPA report that examined 1,213 salad and 1,208 sauce samples from 1,277 kebab shops across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The samples were taken between the beginning of June and the end of July 2007.

The salads were tested for the bacteria E coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella, while the sauces were also examined for bacillus. The study found 4.7% of salads and sauces served at the kebab takeaways contained "unsatisfactory" levels of bacteria and 0.4% of salads and sauces contained "unacceptable or potentially hazardous" levels, meaning the food was unfit for human consumption. Follow the link to read the whole article.