Alarming increase in food poisoning

By Merill Haseen

A MAJOR new survey by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) showed that up to five million people in this country are hit by food poisoning every year.

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Until now, the official number of cases was just 100,000 a year, but they have always been underestimated because at least 80% of sufferers don't go to a doctor.

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The survey also discovered that a higher percentage of people in England had suffered food poisoning than in Scotland or Wales, and that those who report their poisoning are more likely to tell their GP than the food outlet responsible.

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More than 3000 Britons were questioned for the survey, which revealed that three in five people were still worried about the way abattoirs and butchers handled raw chicken and beef, as well as hygiene in fast food outlets, markets and supermarkets.

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Just over 40% of people had concerns over GM foods and 37% were worried by the level of antibiotics that might be present in the farm animals they ate.

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Those living in towns and cities tended to be more concerned about food issues than those in the countryside, but they were also more likely to have suffered food poisoning.

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The survey also found that:

• of the 43% who were aware of official advice to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, only half did so the day before they were interviewed. Few actually knew what a portion size was (a whole fruit if eaten raw or two tablespoons of vegetable).

• up to two thirds of respondents did not understand what food labelling - particularly 'fat-free' labelling, or ingredients lists meant.
  
• a third of those questioned had eaten organic food, but just one in 20 households included a vegetarian.�

• four in five women are the food shoppers, and 94% buy from major supermarkets.

Common food poisoning sources:

• Campylobacter from raw/undercooked meat and untreated milk. Symptoms: diarrhoea, cramps, fever.

• Salmonella from raw/undercooked meat, poultry and eggs. Symptoms: diarrhoea, vomiting, high temperature.

• Listeria from raw vegetables, pates, soft cheeses. Symptoms: from mild flu to septicaemia, can cause miscarriage.

• E Coli from beef, unpasteurised milk and cheese. Symptoms: cramps, vomiting, diarrhoea.