‘Have you seen the state of their..?’: kitchen hygiene, farm biosecurity and the need for good quality social scientific

1. ‘Have you seen the state of their..?’: kitchen hygiene, farm biosecurity and the need for good quality social scientific research Anne Murcott Special Professor University of Nottingham

2. ‘have you seen the state of their...’ fridge trays of pig swill baby’s feeding bottle microwave oven

3. ‘have you seen the state of their...’ path between the turkey shed and processing plant café’s kitchen sink milking parlour...

4. ‘have you seen the state of their...’ house officer’s tie operating theatre B the floor in the corner of the ward...

5. kitchen hygiene, farm biosecurity visible and invisible dirt cleanliness and contamination microbiology, toxicology hygiene, safety, biosecurity H591, E. Sakazakii, C. diff. purity and pollution all amenable to some form of social scientific investigation

6. kitchen hygiene, farm biosecurity just a thought... isn’t there a gap?

7. the need for good quality social scientific research not simply ‘data needs’, also need for social scientific imagination & new research by:- (a) using all kinds of sources as spurs to imaginative thought (b) going beyond conventional wisdoms to complicate common sense understandings (c) building on existing research – including beyond food

9. spurs to imaginative thought... 'Death and squalor' filmed at foot and mouth farm Martin Wainwright The Guardian Thursday May 9, 2002 Takeaway cutlery and plastic wrapping were found in a piggery's trays of swill which had supposedly been heated almost to boiling point for two hours, a court heard yesterday. Graphic footage of the debris, piped to pens from a central processor at the farm where foot and mouth was first found last year, was shown to the trial at Bedlington magistrates court in Northumberland.

10. spurs to imaginative thought... Slap-dash errors and shoddy behaviour by staff at the Bernard Matthews factory at the centre of the bird flu outbreak have been criticised by two official inquiries. The reports by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, come exactly a fortnight to the day when the potentially lethal strain of H5N1 virus was confirmed in a turkey shed on the company's farm at Holton. Eastern Daily Press February 17 2007

11. spurs to imaginative thought... Ruth Watkins, Clinical Virologist, interviewed by Robin Lustig ‘World Tonight’ BBC Radio 4 Feb 12 2007 Raised question about workers’ standards of hygiene and associated practices such as shoe cleaning, washing that are aimed at biosecurity

12. BBC Radio Radio 4 Home Synopsis Eddie is relief milking at Brookfield and is very happy in his work. He puts Ruth’s mind at rest – he’s up to speed on all their procedures and paying attention to the hygiene routines. Ruth joins him for a while. (emphasis added)

13. spurs to imaginative thought... ‘It was very clear that the term non-sterile carries with it very strong negative associations and these included: dirty, unclean, contaminated, bacteria, germs, not sealed, infections, getting sick or ill, unsafe and “likely to be” more than “potentially harmful”’ p.37 COI & FSA (2006) Powdered Infant Formula Qualitative Research http://www.food.gov.uk/science/surveys/infantformula

14. going beyond conventional wisdoms complicating common sense understandings “explore parents and health care professionals understanding of the term non-sterile” (absent apostrophes in the original) market research work provides list of synonyms occurring in focus groups their conclusion serves as social scientist’s (eg social anthropologist, sociologist, psychologist) starting point

15. going beyond conventional wisdoms nature of lay theories of cleanliness/dirt routine everyday practices any variation under varying circumstances (visiting infant, care of very elderly, adult with compromised immune system) generational differences mixed methods – participant observation, CCTV/still photography, interviewing, inventories of cleaning materials/purchase, attitude measurement NB Martens in Cox & Campkin (eds) 2007

16. deficiencies of the ‘deficit model’ studying people’s food safety behaviour in the home compares findings on kitchen practices with ideal activities which would keep cross contamination to a minimum conclusion comments on the ‘unfortunate’ extent to which people fail to measure up to those ideals

17. deficiencies of the ‘deficit model’ studying practices and attitudes to herd management compares herdsmen and women’s responses with professional veterinary viewpoints a poor fit is deplored, finding the former wanting

18. deficiencies of the ‘deficit model’ conclusions are value judgements – report writing versions of ‘have you seen the state of their...?’ horror, regret, disappointment etc may be understandable reactions but they are no substitute for adequate social scientific analyses and conclusions.

19. building on existing research – including beyond food ...beliefs and practices affecting the safety of food itself are remarkably under-researched chapter on beliefs & practices about food and health Mennell, Murcott & van Otterloo 1992:47

20. building on existing research – including beyond food kitchen practices – domestic and commercial cleaning practices – house, personal, laundry conceptions of clean/dirty, use of implements (sharing toothbrushes, cloths cleaning floor & then table, washing between handling raw meat & preparing salad) STS – lay (public) understandings of science sociology of health & illness

21. building on existing research – including beyond food turkey farm workers’ hygiene, shoe cleaning etc under what circumstances are corners normally cut, how is work organised, incentives/disincentives, surveillance procedures, employee turnover studying farm work as work – sociology of work & occupations, industrial sociology (Theo Nichols) normal deviance: speeding, small scale pilfering from employer/shoplifting/smuggling – criminology

22. kitchen hygiene, farm biosecurity just a thought... isn’t there a gap? are agencies failing to benefit from decent social scientific research? are social scientists missing funding opportunities?

23. acknowledgements grateful thanks to Brigitte Nerlich and Nelya Koteyko at University of Nottingham and Lydia Martens of Keele University for providing copies of their work

25. Clostridium difficile methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus