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Food Safety Week

Sandwich15 - 21 June 2009

Food Safety Week is an annual event promoting the importance of good food hygiene in the home.

 

This year the Food Standards Agency ( FSA ) is using the week to focus on Listeria and the over 60’s along with the importance of good general food hygiene using the principles of the 4Cs of Food Safety (Cleaning, Cooking, Chilling and Cross-contamination).

 

Ashford Borough Council is adding its weight to the campaign which builds on its on-going work to improve local food hygiene standards.

 

Listeria causes more deaths in the UK each year than Salmonella and E.coli combined. It can cause illness in vulnerable people, such as people over 60, pregnant women and people with weakened immunity including transplant and cancer patients. More than 95% of people who get food poisoning from listeria end up in hospital.

 

UK cases have more than doubled since 2000 with more older people affected by the potentially deadly food bug than ever before.

 

Eating food beyond its ‘use by’ date increases the risk of food poisoning from listeria and research published by the FSA shows less than half of over 60’s recognise ‘use by’ dates as an important indicator of whether food is safe or not, and so could be putting themselves at risk of serious illness.

 

Listeria can been found in a wide range of chilled ready-to-eat foods, including sandwiches, butter, cooked sliced meats, smoked salmon, certain soft cheeses and pâté. Vulnerable people should avoid eating soft cheeses (such as Camembert, Brie, or others that have a similar rind, and soft blue cheeses) and all types of pâtés (including vegetable).

It’s easy to reduce your risk of getting listeria if you follow this simple checklist:

 

For more information and advice about listeria visit the FSA website.

The 4 Cs of Food Safety

Cases of food poisoning double during the summer months but it is very easy to avoid becoming one of those who fall ill by sticking to the 4 Cs of Food Safety.

The simple rules below can help you to stay safe from food-borne illnesses in the kitchen:

Food Cleaning Logo

Cleaning      

Food Cooking Logo

Cooking

Food Cross Contamination Logo

Cross contamination

Food Chilling Logo

Chilling

'Use by’ and ‘best before’ dates

 

For more information about food safety and hygiene visit the FSA website.

 

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This webpage was updated on 10/22/2009

 

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