TWO SCOTTISH supermarkets at the centre of an E coli outbreak which has claimed the life of a pensioner had been warned overcontraventionsoffood hygiene procedures, the Sunday Herald can reveal.

Reports from environmental health officers have highlighted more than 20 concerns over standards at the Falside Road and Lonend branches of Morrisons in Paisley in the past three years. It is believed that cold cooked meats from the delicatessen counters at these stores are the most likely source of the deadly E coli 0157 infection which has so far affected a total of nine people.

Among the issues raised by inspectors from Renfrewshire Council were: l Poorfood-handlingprocedures which "must be addressed".

l Concerns over the safety of meat pies being displayed for sale for up to 12 hours at room temperatures.

l Raw eggs being stored on warm surfaces which could allow the growth of harmful bacteria.

l Opened foodstuffs in the butchery chilldepartmentwhichwerenot labelled with a use-by sticker, as required by the company policy.

l Concerns about the risk of cross-contamination between raw meat and poultry in the "reduced to clear" cabinet.

l Food temperature probes being encrusted with food debris.

The outbreak of E coli came to light last week after the death of 66-year-old MargaretRowan,fromPaisley.A further eight cases have been identified, the most recent of which emerged on Friday.Threepeople,including Rowan's 72-year-old husband Stephen, are still being treated in hospital.

While investigations into the exact source of the bug are continuing, health chiefs leading the outbreak control team have stated that cold cooked meatsfrom Morrisons' Lonend and Falside Road branches are "the most likely vehicles of infection".

An inspection of the Falside Road store in October 2005 resulted in seven contraventions of food safety regulations being noted, and in May this year a further 10 points were raised by inspectors. The most recent report stated that there were "some poor food-handling procedures which must be addressedpriortothenextprogrammed inspection".

At the Lonend store, an inspection in August 2006 listed four contraventions of regulations, including the practice of storing raw eggs on a warm cooker surface,whichcouldincreasethe potential for bacterial growth.

The latest report on the store, issued in March this year, noted two concerns including that "a variety of meat pies are cooked and thereafter displayed for sale for up to 12 hours".

It added: "I would be obliged if you would provide me with details of analysis fortheproductsimplicatedinthis practice which demonstrate that they comply with food safety requirements after being stored at ambient temperatures for 12 hours."

Thereportalsowarnedthatthe delivery temperatures of refrigerated vans were not being recorded, which could be a "potential shortcoming" in the company's food safety policy and "due diligence defence", which can be used to show that all reasonable practical steps have been taken to prevent an incident from happening if any legal action is taken.

Leading food safety expert Hugh Pennington,a former emeritusprofessorofmicrobiologyatAberdeen University, said that while the faults reported did not suggest an increased risk of E coli infection, it raised questions over the standards at the stores.

"They are not perfect reports and one wouldexpectabigbusinesslike Morrisons to be able to deliver a pretty clean sheet," he said. "It is always disappointing to find a big firm falling down a bit."

Ishbel Mackinnon, the co-ordinator of EcolisupportgroupHaemolytic Uraemic Syndrome Help (Hush), said food safety procedures had been tightened since the world's worst E coli outbreak claimed 21 lives in Wishaw in 1996.

But she added: "At the end of the day these regulations are only as good as the people that are implementing them.

"I am concerned that perhaps more needs to be done in the way of training to make sure everyone is totally aware of what the regulations are and why things are being done."

A spokesmanforMorrisons said it had a "strong history" of good hygiene compliance. "Asisconsistentwiththe norm for the industry, we receive regular routine assessmentofourfoodpreparation areas," he added. "Actions arising from the inspection reports are promptly and professionallytaken,aswouldbe expected of one of the UK's leading retailers."

An investigation by the Sunday Herald has also revealed that councils across Scotland are failing to carry out foodhygieneinspectionsatthe minimumrequiredfrequencies.A review of local authorities' food law enforcement services, which is being carried out by the Food Standards Agency, has identified this as an issue in 16 out of 24 councils audited to date.

Tom Bell, chief executive of the Royal EnvironmentalHealthInstituteof Scotland, warned that a shortage of environmental health officers was an ongoing problem."There are still a numberofstudentscomingoutof university without training places, and thenumberofvacanciesinlocal authorities is not sufficient to meet the needs of the future," he said.

A spokeswoman for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) said there was a range of reasons why some inspections were not carried out withintheplanned timescale, including staff being diverted to emergency incidents or not being able to get access to premises.

But she acknowledged that there have been"capacityproblems"inthe environmental health workforce in all parts of the UK and added that Cosla was working with councils to address workforce planning issues.