Incidents are often due to the failure or absence of simple procedures e.g. cross contamination from raw to cooked meats, cross contamination from food handlers, inadequate temperature control or more usually, a combination of factors.
Incidents in the E&P sector do not get widely reported unless they are reportable (UK Offshore) or large numbers of people are involved and are reported in the news. Incidents have occasionally been reported on offshore facilities and construction sites with up to 200 cases in a single incident on one large construction project.
Food poisoning incidents can occur anywhere — here are a few stories reported by the BBC which help to illustrate how incidents occur and some of the consequences of failure which can include fatalities.
Although, these examples are not taken from catering in the oil & gas industry, the principles and lessons learnt are still relevant.
Food safety principles are just the same in the galley of an offshore oil installation or a kitchen on a remote construction site as they are in a school canteen or a butchers shop but with one major difference — the resources and medical facilities needed to deal with an incident may not be immediately available in the location where the incident occurred.
The incidents in the UK have occurred against a background of comprehensive food legislation, training and enforcement.
Year | Country | Organism | Food | Total Cases | Deaths | Link |
| 1996 | Scotland | E.coli 0157 | Cooked Meat | 496 | 18 | Scotland 1996 |
| 2003 | China | Unknown | Unknown | 400 | 0 | China 2003 |
| 2004 | England | Salmonella | Lettuce | 144 | 0 | England 2004 |
| 2005 | Wales | E.coli 0157 | Cooked Meat | 168 | 1 | Wales 20005 |
| 2007 | Jersey | Norwalk virus | Sandwich lunches | 40 | 0 | Jersey 2007 |