Correct storage and handling of food will protect the over 60s from Listeria

The warning is being issued for Food Safety Week, which begins today (Monday 15 June). This year's focus is on people over 60 and the need for correct storage and handling of food in the home.

Dr. Ken Lamden, HPA North West's lead specialist for gastrointestinal disease, said: "We and our partners at the Food Standards Agency, which organises and co-ordinates Food Safety Week, are focusing on the over 60s because there has been a sharp rise in listeria infection in this age group in recent years.

"Listeria is generally a mild illness in otherwise healthy young adults, but it has a disproportionate fatality rate in older people and people with weakened immune systems. More people die from listeria each year than from salmonella and E.coli combined."

In addition to issuing advice to the public, HPA North West is working with Primary Care Trusts and local authority Environmental Health Departments to raise awareness of listeria in care homes for the elderly, luncheon clubs, retired persons' organisations, day care centres, hospices and voluntary groups.

And letters have been sent to medical directors of acute hospital Trusts stressing the need to remind catering and ward staff of the measures that are necessary to prevent listeria bacteria from growing in sandwiches and in chilled ready-to-eat foods.

Professor Qutub Syed, Director of HPA North West, said: "Listeria is unusual in that it can grow at low temperatures, including refrigeration temperatures of less that 5 degrees centigrade. That is why it is so important for older people in particular to heed the use-by dates on food packaging.

"A Food Standards Agency survey of people aged over 60 found that less than half of those questioned recognised "use by" dates as an important indicator of whether food is safe or not.  That is a worrying statistic and my message to these people is that health is precious and they should not take an unnecessary risk with it."

Foods most likely to be contaminated with listeria are unpasteurised cheeses, cold cuts of meat, pates, smoked fish and ready-to-eat meals that have been pre-cooked and then chilled for some time before consumption.

People aged over 60s, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems as a result of illness or treatment are most susceptible to listeria.

The advice for avoiding it and other food-borne infections is:

• Do not keep food in the fridge for too long and always heed the use-by guidance.
• Check fridges regularly and maintain them at temperatures lower than 5C.
• Home freezers should be no warmer than -18C.
• Eat sandwiches as close as possible to their production date.
• Consume food within four hours of its removal from chilled storage.
• Remember that foods such as pate, smoked fish and mould-ripened cheese have a higher risk for listeria.
• Store cooked and raw meat products separately in the fridge, with cooked meats always on higher shelves than raw meats.
• Keep raw meat and poultry away from produce that will not require cooking, such as bread and salads, to avoid cross-contamination.
• Use separate knives and chopping boards for raw and cooked foods and for salad ingredients that will not require cooking, such as lettuce and tomatoes.
• Wash hands thoroughly before handling food, immediately after handling raw or uncooked food, before eating and after going to the toilet.

Note to editors

Although the focus of this campaign is on people aged over 60 and the correct storage, preparation and cooking of foods, pregnant women are also at increased risk. Listeriosis in pregnancy can cause miscarriage, premature delivery or severe illness in the newborn child.

Press release issued by Hugh Lamont, Communications Manager, HPA North West. Tel. 0151-482-5728 or 07764-906508.