Wellingborough Council Promotes Food Safety Week

Proper food hygiene is particularly important during the summer months when levels of food poisoning soar. There are around 120,000 extra cases of illness recorded across the UK when the weather is at its warmest. 

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) expects to see the number of cases increasing as the weather gets warmer and barbeques and eating outside become more frequent. People should not worry unduly about food poisoning, however, there are some simple common sense steps people can take to avoid getting ill. The proper storing, handling and cooking of food will minimise the risk. 

To help people learn more about food safety and the simple things they can do to keep themselves and their families safe, members of the council's Health Protection Team will be on hand at the following venues during the week:

• Tuesday, 8th June, 9.30am to 2.30pm:
  Tesco Stores, Victoria Park, Whitworth Way, Wellingborough
  
• Thursday, 10th June, 9.30am to 2.30pm:
  Morrisons, 2-5 Oxford Street, Wellingborough

To coincide with Food Safety Week, the Health Protection Newsletter is being sent out to all food businesses within the borough to reinforce the importance of good hygiene practices during food preparation and handling.

The FSA advises that following simple principles will help people to keep food safe. Bob Martin, a food safety expert at the FSA said: "Proper cooking will kill food bugs. 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 your food is steaming hot all the way through before serving. Avoiding cross-contamination is also extremely important, that is preventing bacteria from spreading between foods and from contaminated surfaces or utensils. Make sure you store raw meat covered and 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 without washing the board and knife thoroughly first."

The FSA also highlights that clean hands in the kitchen are vital in the fight against food poisoning and food must also be kept at the right temperature. Food that needs to be chilled should be kept in the fridge, and checks made that it's running at the right temperature - between 0°C and 5°C. Storage of food above these temperatures can allow bacteria to grow or harmful toxins to form. Also, on a picnic, don't take food out of the fridge until the last minute and use a cool bag to keep it chilled until ready to eat. 

Amanda Wilcox, Health Protection Manager at the Borough Council of Wellingborough said: "Food poisoning is a miserable experience and can be so easily avoided. Just following simple steps in the kitchen can mean you don't become another food poisoning casualty."

For more advice on food safety go to www.eatwell.gov.uk/keepingfoodsafe
or contact  Amanda Wilcox, Health Protection Manager at the borough Council, on 01933 231954 awilcox@wellingborough.gov.uk