40% of food poisoning happens at home, with under-fives being most at risk. Follow our 4Cs to help keep yourself and your family safe from food poisoning
Around 40% of food poisoning occurs in the home, with under-5s having the highest risk of severe symptoms from campylobacter – the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK.
Washing raw chicken, other poultry and meat is a common way of spreading this and other food poisoning bacteria. Other causes include keeping food in fridges that are too warm, handling food with dirty hands and mixing raw and cooked foods.
Follow our 4Cs to help keep yourself and your family safe from food poisoning:
The 4Cs
· Chill – make sure your fridge is running below 5 degrees.
· don’t Cross-contaminate – avoid cross-contamination by keeping raw and ready-to-eat foods separate
· Clean – your hands with soap and warm water between handling ready-to-eat and raw meat, then dry thoroughly before handling any food
· Cook – food thoroughly so it’s steam-hot throughout. Always stir microwave food to spread the heat throughout.
For more tips on good food hygiene practices visit www.food.gov.uk/chicken.
Making informed choices
Don’t forget that the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme can help you make informed choices about where you buy and eat food. And if you are eating out in the county, don’t forget that Surrey’s Eat Out Eat Well awards identify local caterers with healthy food options as well as good food hygiene practices.
