Health Club

What is food poisoning?
Food poisoning is an illness usually associated with eating food that is contaminated with bacteria or viruses (germs).
Symptoms typically include diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach pains. People tend to automatically associate these symptoms with the last thing they ate out but surprisingly, most cases of food poisoning originate from within the home

How do I avoid the spread of food poisoning?
To prevent yourself from becoming ill: Avoid contact between your mouth and those things that carry germs.

To avoid passing germs to others: Avoid contact between the food you have prepared for others and those things that carry germs.

Things that carry germs:

the nose, mouth and hands faeces - human and animal's pets pests (insects, rodents, etc) food, especially meat The following list of do’s and don’t’s will help you put some of this advice into practice: DO -wash your hands thoroughly after using the toilet. -wash hands thoroughly before and after preparing food and always after handling raw meat. -keep cooked and uncooked foods apart to prevent bacteria from raw food getting onto cooked food -use a disinfectant to kill germs on work surfaces in the kitchen. -keep all perishable foods in a fridge especially cooked meats, stews, meat pies, poultry and dairy products. Only take food out just before you are going to use it. -avoid leaving perishable food at room temperature. -ensure that frozen foods (especially poultry, meat joints etc.) are completely thawed before cooking. -keep pets out of the kitchen particularly when preparing food. -wash hands thoroughly after touching pets and especially after emptying litter trays. -ensure your kitchen is kept clean: adopt a ‘clean as you go’ system of work. DON'T -touch your face and nose whilst preparing food as they are a source of food poisoning bacteria. -wash pets’ feeding bowls with the family dishes or allow the pet to lick from the families dinner plates. -leave food uncovered to avoid contamination by dust, dirt, flies, rats and mice. - warm up meat pies and leftovers left out after cooked: instead store food in the fridge and when ready to use and make sure that they are re-cooked thoroughly to prevent bacteria growing. -handle food that other people will eat, if you are suffering from sickness or diarrhoea. -use food later than the “Use-by” date stamped on its label

From : www.brent.gov.uk