An old tyre flung on top of warm chickens in the back of a Hiace van can take some credit for the Supreme Hygiene Award won by Wheatfield prison last Wednesday.
Assistant governor Mr Derek Tracy says the state of the delivery in 1991 kick-started the hygiene programme. The prison kitchens have since won three category awards, four triple hygiene marks, 10 hygiene marks and one special merit from the National Hygiene Awards, organised by Excellence Ireland. Scallys' Supervalu store in Clonakilty, Co Cork, was the joint winner of the national award
Deliveries today are subjected to a close inspection. A probe is used to measure the temperature of refrigerated vans and the hygiene of the van. "There may be an attitude out there that anything will do for prisoners. However, we demand the highest standards in food," he says.
Head chef Mr Donncha Walsh, with a staff of eight and a rota of 15 offenders/ trainees, caters for 370 inmates. The budget is £2.68 per head per day.
On the day The Irish Times visited the menu consisted of Weetabix for breakfast and savoury mince and roast potatoes, with a dessert of creamed rice pudding, for lunch. Tea was a spice burger and beans, yoghurt, fruit and orange juice, with a supper of half-a-pint of milk and a bun. Special diets, such as vegetarian, diabetic, halal and coelic, are catered for.
The vegetarian lunch of roast potatoes, carrots, peas and cabbage, was of good pub grub standard. There is a 28-day menu cycle and prisoners are surveyed every six months so menu fatigue does not set in, says Mr Walsh. All menus are vetted by a nutritionist. "The most popular dishes are lasagne, pastas and coddle," he says.
Wheatfield takes traceability one step further than most catering outlets. A sample of each meal is kept in a refrigerator for three days and if any problems arise these samples can then be sent to a lab for analysis. Kitchen work is sought after by the prisoners, some of whom volunteer on a seven day basis from 7.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. As one inmate put it: "Anyone with any sense would try to work here."
According to Mr Tracy: "Inmates must not have a drug problem as the kitchen is an ideal spot for trafficking. They must pass an interview and they must be certified fit by the doctor." The reward is that they learn useful life skills as well as sitting nationally recognised catering qualifications. One trainee who has been in the kitchen for the past 21 months says he likes working as part of a team. "I'm happy here. I'd like to stay until the end of my sentence."
All of the trainees do a six-week introductory food hygiene programme. They may study for the National Tourism Certification Board Award in elementary cookery. Successful completion of the NTCB award gives a one-year exemption from the fulltime chef programme in college, explains Mr Walsh. "When trainees come in and show some flair we encourage them to take up the programme. A few have got jobs in industry after they left prison," he says.
Wheatfield is a high-security prison, catering for offenders aged 17 to 60 years. The average stay is five to seven years.
The only visual clue as to who is staff and who is an inmate is the colour of their trousers, with navy for staff and white for inmates. The advantages for Mr Walsh of a "captive workforce" are that there is no problem with availability of labour and his trainees stay an average of 18 to 24 months, far longer than the turnover rate in the industry at present.
Since April 1st, 1989, prisons are subject to inspections by environmental health officers.
Mr Tracy says: "We now have seven prisons which have achieved hygiene mark status and, by 2003, all prisons will have that standard. At Wheatfield, we are aiming for ISO 9000/2000 status for our catering. That will be one for The Guinness Book of Records. Only 300 companies in Ireland have this status. We hope to achieve that by April 2002 and then, within 12 months, to extend it to the whole prison."
