Bugs like it hot!
Monday 11 June 2007
Food Safety Week, which is now co-ordinated by the FSA, starts today. During the week, the Agency will be warning people that ‘Bugs like it hot!’, so in warm weather it’s more important than ever to keep food cool and safe.
‘Unless you keep your food chilled, any bugs in your food will have a party’
In the UK, there is a surge of food poisoning cases in the summer months, with just under half of cases caused by salmonella or campylobacter bacteria occurring between June and September. Every year there are an estimated 860,000 food poisoning cases.
Just 10 invisible bugs in food can multiply to 1,000 in six hours, 100,000 in nine-and-a-half hours and more than a million in 12 hours. And when it’s very hot, bugs can multiply even faster.
The FSA is advising people to keep food cold on picnics or days out by using a cool bag and also to remember to put food in the fridge at home.
'Bugs can be prevented from gatecrashing people’s summer parties,' said Dr Judith Hilton, Head of the FSA’s Microbiological Safety Division. 'Being stuck in a traffic jam is bad enough – but unless you keep your food chilled, any bugs in your food will have a party.'
‘Bugs like it hot!’ flyers, giving handy tips for consumers, can be ordered from FSA Publications by calling 0845 606 0667 or emailing foodstandards@ecgroup.co.uk
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