What are the main causes of food poisoning?
- Not cooking food properly
- Poor personal hygiene (hand washing etc)
- Preparing food in advance and leaving this at room
temperature
- Storing food incorrectly
- Not defrosting food properly
- Preparing food on an unhygienic surface
The time taken from eating suspect food to feeling unwell varies
considerably, this time period can be up to 15 days, the last meal
you ate will probably not be the cause of your illness. Medical
assistance should be sought if you are concerned about your health
or the health of someone else. Contact NHS Direct (0845 4647)
or your GP for advice.
Why is it important to report food poisoning?
If you think your illness has been caused by food from a
restaurant or other food business our environmental health officers
need to know so they can investigate the business in
question. If the officers find a problem with the business's
food hygiene practices, and get the business to improve them this
could help prevent other people suffering from food poisoning.
It is essential that you inform your employer or environmental
health officer if you:
- are a food handler whose work is connected with the preparation
or handling of food and drink
- are a health care or nursery member of staff or other staff who
has direct contact or contact through serving food, with highly
susceptible patients or persons to whom food poisoning would have
particularly serious consequences.
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