A senior food protection officer yesterday urged the E-coli inquiry to consider sweeping changes in food laws in the wake of the epidemic that killed 21 people.

Local councils should be exempt from compensation claims if, in good faith, they used their powers to close a business during a food poisoning scare only to discover they were wrong, said Mr Robert Main.

He also called for tighter rules on who is allowed to set up a food business and, if necessary, for confusing legislation on hygiene and the registration of food producers to be rewritten.

Mr Main, environmental health consumer protection manager with Falkirk Council, asked the E-coli fatal accident inquiry to consider these moves when he gave evidence in Motherwell about how the outbreak affected Forth Valley.

Seven people in the area died in the E-coli 0157 outbreak in 1996 linked to butchers John M Barr & Son products bought at Forth Valley Scotmid stores.

The inquiry has heard evidence that the Wishaw butcher was not closed by health authorities who suspected the premises were the main source of the outbreak because they had a voluntary agreement from Mr Barr to withdraw cooked meats from sale.

But the inquiry has heard that in such cases health officials fear huge compensation bills if premises shut by a closure order prove not to be the source of contamination.

Mr Main acted swiftly to alert Forth Valley Health Board when Scotmid stores in his area were identified as selling suspect Barr products and helped compile warning notices on November 25, 1996, about cooked meat products bought at local Scotmid stores.

He said: ''I have some sympathy with the suggestion that there should be indemnification of local authorities if acting in good faith in public health issues.''

Local authorities had to be accountable, but at least the inquiry should consider open discussion on the matter of indemnification.

He called for greater licensing powers to control food premises in general: ''It's far too easy for anyone to set up as a food business,'' he said.

''If we had a system of licensing it would be far easier to control people involved in running those premises. Too many people can start food businesses and have no background in that kind of work.''

Mr Main was also critical of Scottish Office guidelines on certain food hygiene regulations as being ''confusing''. The regulations themselves were also confusing, he said.

Mr Main said one of the most frequent causes of confusion among his officers were exemption clauses for registering food producers under the Meat Products (Hygiene) Regulations, 1994.

The inquiry has been told that one former Motherwell District Council EHO told Mr Barr he should be registered under the new act but later a different officer told the butcher he was exempt.

Mr Main said the most common cause of complaint from his EHOs was on clarification of exemption clauses. And, he said, when seeking clarification from the Scottish Office, found it was difficult to obtain consistent information.

Sheriff Principal Graham Cox thanked Mr Main for a ''very positive contribution'' to the inquiry.

Outside the inquiry, Mr Main said that if necessary food hygiene regulation laws and the Meat Products (Hygiene) Regulations 1994 should be rewritten so they could be clearly understood.