The number of the recorded number of food poisoning cases in the UK has fallen by almost 17,000 in the past four years from around 96,000 to 78,921, according to the Food and Drink Federation.
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The FDF is launching foodlink National Food Safety Week (13-19 June). The focus for 2005 is “Stop, Think, Wash!” – encouraging people to think about the importance of washing hands.
The foodlink survey encouragingly shows that people are now less worried about food poisoning when they prepare food, with only 36% concerned compared to half (50%) in 2001. 88% of Britons now always wash their hands after handling raw meat, poultry or fish – up 9% from 2001. Failing to do this is a classic cause of food poisoning.
81% of Britons always wash their hands before preparing food – up 2% from 2001. However, whilst people are washing their hands more often, they aren’t always using soap and hot water, meaning they won’t be getting rid of the germs they intend to. While over two thirds (71%) say they always use soap and hot water, 29% don’t always reach for the soap – up 2% from 2001.
The survey also found that nearly half (47%) of Brits don’t always wash their hands before eating lunch at work. So, with 400 times more bacteria on the average workstation than on the average loo, eating with your hands at your desk could be doubly dangerous, the FDF said.
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By GlobalData“Since our first survey on Britain’s hand washing habits, reported cases of food poisoning have come down, and that’s great news, said Martin Paterson, FDF deputy director general. “However, while our new survey shows that people are getting better at preventative actions such as washing hands after handling raw meats, there are still too many cases. Foodlink, along with thousands of local event organisers across the UK, will continue to raise awareness of this important public health issue aiming to continue to bring the number of cases down.”
“It’s great that reported food poisoning cases have dropped from around 96,000 to 78,921, but that is 78,921 too many, said Professor Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen. “We know that many other cases go unreported, so we shouldn’t be complacent. Preventing food poisoning is not rocket science; it is largely down to common sense.”
The foodlink survey also found that more people (48%) now know the correct temperature for a fridge (between 0 and 5 deg C). This is an improvement of 11% from 2001. Mmore people correctly identified the reason why raw meat should be stored on the bottom shelf of the fridge (so that it won’t drip onto other foods) – up 6% from 70% in 2001 to 76% this year.
The number of people who always dry their hands properly after washing is slightly down at 72% (77% in 2001). When asked whether damp or dry hands were most likely to spread germs, 79% correctly said damp; 15% said dry and 6% said they didn’t know, and
When asked how long germs could stay alive on your hands, less than one in four (23%) correctly identified that bugs could survive for up to three hours.
With 1,000 times as many germs spreading from damp hands than dry hands, the ‘dry your hands’ message can’t be spread widely enough, the FDF said.
When asked why they thought people didn’t wash their hands before preparing food 22% said they were too lazy; 21% said they didn’t care or think about it; 12% cited forgetfulness; 8% stated lack of time, and 3% cited ‘hands looking clean’ as a reason for avoiding soap and water.
