HPA Advice for dealing with Germs that can lurk in the Kitchen

9 June 2008

Approximately 4.5 million people – one in 10 of the population – suffer food-borne illnesses in England and Wales every year. In Greater Manchester alone 1938 people suffered from campylobacter infection and 493 from salmonella food poisoning in 2007.

Yet many of these infections could be avoided if people took greater care with food storage, preparation, cooking and hygiene. That’s the message from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) for National Food Safety Week, which this year begins on Monday 9 June.

The theme of this year’s campaign is “Germ Watch.” The aim is to raise awareness of good food hygiene practice and especially the four Cs, cleaning, cooking, chilling and avoiding cross-contamination.

Dr. Roger Gross, Chairman of the HPA’s Programme Board for Gastro Intestinal (GI) Infections, said: “Food can be contaminated at any stage of its production process, but there are simple rules that we can all follow to eliminate or minimise risks to ourselves and our families and friends.

“Our goal for National Food Safety Week is to give people the information they need to safely prepare, cook, savour and enjoy food, whether in the home or al fresco at a barbecue or picnic.”

The advice is issued as long-range weather forecasts predict that Britain could be bathing in real summer sunshine from mid-June onwards, encouraging many families to blow the cobwebs off the barbecue and try their culinary skills out-of-doors. Dr. Lorraine Lighton, the HPA’s GI lead for Greater Manchester, says that often heralds an increase in avoidable food-borne infections.

“We tend to see increases in gastro-intestinal illnesses such as salmonella and campylobacter infection whenever we have a prolonged spell of warmer weather,” Dr. Lighton said.

“This is partly due to people bringing out the barbie when the sun shines and paying less attention to food safety advice. It’s easier to get caught out in the summer when warm conditions can encourage the growth of bacteria.”

The HPA’s food safety advice is:

• Store foods at the correct temperature. Bacteria can thrive in temperatures ranging from 5C to 60C, so the temperature in domestic fridges should be lower than 5C. Home freezers should be no warmer than -18C.
• Cooked and raw meats should be stored separately in the fridge, with cooked meats always on higher shelves than uncooked meats.
• Raw meat and poultry must be kept well away from produce that will not require cooking, such as bread and salads, to avoid the risk of cross-contamination.
• Meat and poultry must be thoroughly defrosted in the fridge before cooking.
• Separate knives and chopping boards should be used for raw and cooked foods and for salad ingredients that will not require cooking, such as lettuce and tomato.
• Hands should be thoroughly washed before handling food and immediately after handling raw or uncooked food. If cooking at the beach or in the countryside, use hand wipes.
• Always wash hands after using the toilet and before eating.
• A barbecue should be lit long before use to ensure that the grill is hot enough to cook food through.
• Roasts and larger joints of meat or poultry will not cook on the barbecue. It is safer to prepare these larger products indoors in an oven. Barbecues are for small portions only.
• Do not butter or eat bread or pick at salads after putting raw meat on the barbecue, unless you have thoroughly washed your hands in between
• nsure that raw meats and poultry, including bacon and sausages, are thoroughly cooked.
• Smoking or drinking whilst handling uncooked food increases the risk of contamination.

 

Note to editors

National Food Safety Week is organised by the Food Standards Agency.

*Campylobacter is a bacterium found in poultry and in some raw meats. It is a year-round infection that peaks in spring and summer. Its symptoms are similar to salmonella with abdominal pain and nausea, fever and diarrhoea. There is usually a delay of 2-5 days between the germ entering the body and the individual becoming unwell, although this incubation period can be anything from 1-10 days.

Campylobacter spreads in the barbecue season if people do not prepare and cook food properly, which includes using separate knives and chopping boards for raw and cooked food.

Contamination can be spread from hand to mouth if the barbecue chef smokes or drinks whilst handling raw meat and poultry.

Salmonella is a common cause of gastro-enteritis. As with campylobacter, the usual features are vomiting, diarrhoea and fever. Incubation takes about three days and the illness normally lasts from three to seven days. It is helped by a replacement of fluids.

The basic rules for preventing salmonella infection are good personal hygiene with hands washed before and after food preparation and after using the toilet. Food preparation and cooking advice are the same as for campylobacter.

Further information on these and other food-borne infections can be found on the HPA website, under topics A-Z. See www.hpa.org.uk

Press release issued by Hugh Lamont on 0151-482-5728, 07764-906508

Last reviewed: 14 January 2009