400 per cent rise in food poisoning

HEALTH

Cases of food poisoning have rocketed by more than 400 per cent in the past decade, the Government said yesterday. Last year 84,348 people in England and Wales, and a further 4,940 in Scotland, were hit by food poisoning. Twenty people died in the Scottish E.coli outbreak.

And drinkers dipping into bowls of nibbles on pub counters could be picking up more than peanuts, the food safety minister, Jeff Rooker, warned.

At the launch of National Food Safety Week, organised by the Food and Drink Federation, Mr Rooker said bowls of crisps, peanuts and mints in bars and restaurants were all potential health hazards from which consumers could pick up bugs.

He added: "You don't know where the sticky fingers that have been in the bowl before you have been."

In a poll conducted for the FDF last year, 6 per cent of adults claimed to have felt unwell after eating. The survey also found that 35 per cent of adults and 53 per cent of children admitted not washing their hands before touching food.