Celebrity chefs "irresponsible" on hygiene
TV shows like Ready Steady Cook and Celebrity MasterChef are setting bad examples of hygiene standards, health chiefs claim.
Dr Layla Jader of the National Public Health Service for Wales says shows often fail to wash vegetables before using them or separate uncooked meat from other food.
Speaking at the British Medical Association conference in Edinburgh she cited the BBC shows as examples which failed to follow basic hygiene standards.
She added that it was part of a wider problem in which cleanliness standards were dropping everywhere from schools to restaurants.
"I've seen it so many times. They bring in the vegetables, they open the bag and they make the salad straight from unwashed vegetables," she said.
"They do it for the sake of expedience, but these programmes are watched by millions of people.
"It's irresponsible. If they are going to do something that's not healthy they should say: 'We are in a hurry but please wash the salad and vegetables before you serve it'."
A spokesman for Celebrity Masterchef rejected the claims saying: "Before contestants are allowed to cook they are thoroughly briefed by our qualified home economists on all aspects of hygienic food preparation.
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