Food poisoning is an illness caused by eating contaminated food. The symptoms include diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain. These usually occur within one to seven days of eating contaminated food.
The most common cause of food poisoning is due to bacteria such as Salmonella, Escherchia coli, Staphylococcus, Listeria and Clostridium. These bacteria may come from cross contamination from raw foods, insects, rodents, birds or animals, dust, soil, refuse and waste food or may come from the food handler.
If you think that you have food poisoning
If you have any symptoms that you suspect to be a type of food poisoning you should stay off work and visit your doctor as soon as you can. You will probably have to provide a stool sample. If you do have food poisoning, your doctor will tell us too. We will then contact you to try and find out what caused the infection and give you advice to prevent any further cases.
Any person handling food should tell their employer if they:
- Know or believe they may be suffering from or are a carrier of, a disease likely to be transmitted through food
- Have infected wounds, skin infections or diarrhoea
Employers must then decide whether or not the individual can continue to handle food. If you are unsure, please contact us. All cases of food poisoning and infectious diseases that are reported are investigated to establish the cause and to prevent the spread of the illness.