We are urging the public to stop washing raw chicken - Food Standards Agency We have issued a call for people to stop washing raw chicken to reduce the risk of contracting campylobacter, a potentially dangerous form of food poisoning. The call comes as new figures show that 44% of people always wash chicken before cooking it – a practice that can spread campylobacter bacteria onto hands, work surfaces, clothing and cooking equipment through the splashing of water droplets. Campylobacter is the most common form of food poisoning in the UK, affecting an estimated 280,000 people a year. Around four in five of these cases come from contaminated poultry. The resulting illness can cause abdominal pain, severe diarrhoea and vomiting. In certain cases, it can lead to irritable bowel syndrome, reactive arthritis and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a serious condition of ...

Food Poisoning – Make sure it doesn't happen to you! by Tina Ainsworth If you have ever had food poisoning you will know it is certainly no laughing matter. Ever had a ‘dodgy tummy’ and just put it down to ’must be something I ate last night’? Chances are that it probably was! Most food poisoning symptoms are only mild so normally go unreported. New research by the Food Standards Agency (2014) has reported that more than 500,000 cases of food poisoning a year are from known pathogens (a disease-producing organism) and double that amount from unknown pathogens. Which foods would you say were most likely to be linked to food poisoning? Top spot goes to poultry meat, second spot to produce including vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds, and third spot goes to beef and lamb. The subject of food poisoning is a vast one and one that every cook should be aware of. You want ...

By Tina Ainsworth So, you want to cook good home cooked meals for your friends and family? Well, the last thing you want is for them to suffer symptoms of food poisoning as a result. Not quite what we’re aiming for here. Let’s start by getting back to basics - Food Hygiene and Food Safety – two terms we hear a lot about, but what are they? What do they mean? What is Food Safety? Food Safety is just about providing food which is fit to eat! What is Food Hygiene? Food Hygiene is the methods involved in achieving safe and clean food. Now let’s start at the beginning! (Where else?) Buying Ingredients Buy your ingredients from a reputable outlet/shop. That door to door salesman may have some bargains, but where do they come from? Are they fresh and safe to eat? Check the best before/use by dates on each product. Not only should they be in date, but ...