As a Catering Manager and Food Hygiene trainer, I was horrified to observe a man doing exactly the same in Lulu, airport branch. This was about eight months ago. I expressed my concern to him and to a manager but was left in doubt as to whether anything would be done about it.

Piercing the protective covering renders food open to contamination. Contamination is the presence of something harmful, objectionable or just plain unwanted in food, which creates a risk of illness, injury and/or discomfort. Contaminants could be physical (dust, insect droppings, stones etc), chemical (cleaning materials, pesticides etc) or microbial (bacteria, mould etc). No one wants to eat contaminated food and the law says that food handlers must protect food from contamination.

It appears that packets are pierced to release air which ensures that items are laid flush on the shelf. Shelves look neat and I suppose more stock is held on display.

Although handlers may be unaware of the implication of their actions, management should know better and they must train and/or supervise their staff accordingly.