Avoid Food Posioning this summer

8 June 2010

Up to one million cases of food-borne illness are reported each year in the UK. Approximately 20,000 people are hospitalised and 500 die from these diseases.

Here in the South West 7474 cases of Campylobacter were confirmed by testing in 2009 compared to 5948 in 2008, a 26% increase. The majority of the cases occurred in the summer months, particularly June and July.

The good news is that food-borne infections can be avoided if people follow a few simple but essential rules for the safe storage, preparation and cooking of food. That is why the Health Protection Agency (HPA) is supporting the Food Standards Agency’s Food Safety Week that runs from 7-13 June.

The theme for this year’s Food Safety Week is “proper cooking and avoiding cross-contamination.

Dr. Deirdre Lewis, HPA South West’s Regional Lead for Gastro Intestinal Diseases, said:

"Campylobacter is one of the most common causes of food related illness and is usually connected to meat that has been undercooked such as chicken.

"During the summer months more people will be thinking about using barbeques and to avoid getting an illness such as Campylobacter I would advise them to check all food is cooked properly before eating.

"Campylobacter can be a very unpleasant experience, people can be unwell for up to ten days with symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pains and cramps."

Bob Martin, food safety expert at the FSA, spelled out the principles for keeping food safe.

"Proper cooking will kill food bugs,” he said. “It's especially important to make sure poultry, pork, burgers and sausages are cooked all the way through. If there's any pink meat or the juices have any pink or red in them, germs could be lurking. Check that your food is steaming hot all the way through before serving.

"Avoid cross-contamination to prevent bacteria spreading between foods and from contaminated surfaces or utensils. Cover raw meat before storage and store at the bottom of the fridge, below and away from ready-to-eat food.

"Never use the same chopping board for raw meat and ready-to-eat foods, such as bread and salad vegetables, unless the board and knife have been thoroughly washed in between."

Bob states that food that needs to be chilled should be kept in a fridge at a temperature between 0 and 5C. Picnickers should not take food out of the fridge until the last minute and should use a cool bag to keep it chilled until it's ready to eat.

Last reviewed: 23 June 2010