Fix workforce problems in environmental health or risk further outbreaks of foodborne disease
Environmental health professionals are a core part of the public health workforce, writes Mark Elliott Environmental health has a critical role in safeguarding the public against foodborne diseases. The UK’s steady rise of foodborne illnesses in the past two years,1 including the recent outbreak of Escherichia coli , underscores the importance of environmental health teams in ensuring food safety and the urgent need to fix workforce shortages across the profession. Hospital admissions for salmonella, E coli , and campylobacter reached record highs in England in 2023.1 Without timely action to tackle staffing, training, and resourcing shortages in environmental health teams in local authorities, national outbreaks of foodborne disease will continue to rise. Environmental health professionals are a core part of the public health workforce, but their contributions often go unrecognised, particularly as so much of their work is focused on prevention. They are tasked with ensuring that all
