Hot NHS food suppliers say safety concerns around frozen meals as a result of listeria business are a "myth"



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UUnlike fresh foods that must be consumed quickly, frozen foods are quarantined, while samples from each batch are tested in the laboratory for bacteria and allergens.

Once the results are clear, meals are stored on average for two months in a giant hangar for the cold near Bristol, before being delivered.

In hospitals, meals are prepared directly from frozen foods in carts heated in each service before being served.

Mr. Freeston said, "It is a myth that the food would be much better if it was prepared at the hospital by a chef. But in a big hospital, the kitchen can be a kilometer away from some rooms.

"By the time the food arrived in the room, it deteriorated.

"Our system is to keep it frozen until the last possible minute and warm it up in the service so that it can be served to patients when it is at its best."

But food activists are skeptical about the use of cooked meals heated in hospitals.

Rob Percival of The Soil Association's Food for Life said, "Health Secretary Matt Hanbad recently said that the best hospitals are those who serve freshly prepared meals – and we agree.

"Patients deserve real food, and we know it's possible."

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