AS a nation we're woefully ignorant of basic food safety and it's making us sick.
There are 31,920 hospitalisations, 86 deaths and one million visits to doctors on average each year because of food poisoning, according to the Food Safety Information Council.
Seventy per cent of Australians don't know the safe cooking temperature for foods that may be contaminated with salmonella and campylobacter, such as poultry and egg dishes, and 36 per cent of Australians are taking a risk by eating raw egg dishes, with 10 per cent eating raw egg dishes at least once a month,
Releasing a report card today (June 7) on Australia's food safety record in recognition of the inaugural UN World Food Safety Day, council chairwoman, Cathy Moir, said a third of all Australian households have at least one vulnerable person at risk of severe illness if they get food poisoning, for example pregnant women, the elderly and people with reduced immunity.
"The theme of the 2019 World Food Safety Day is 'Food Safety: Everyone's Business," said Ms Moir.
"The Food Safety Information Council's role is to educate consumers and the broader community in safe food handling to reduce the number of cases of foodborne illness in Australia. Our consumer research has shown some major food safety concerns," she said.
Food safety tips
You can greatly reduce the risk of food poisoning for you and your family by following six simple tips:
- Always wash your hands with soap and running water and dry thoroughly before handling food and after handling raw meat or poultry, going to the toilet, touching your face or hair, or blowing your nose.
- Never handle food for others if you are feeling unwell.
- Use a fridge thermometer to make sure your fridge is running at or below 5°C.
- Use a meat thermometer to check that high risk foods such as sausages, rolled roasts, hamburger patties and poultry are cooked to at least 75°C in the thickest part of the meat. Egg dishes, such a quiche, should be cooked to 72°C .
- Don't put cooked meat or poultry back on the same surface that raw meat or poultry has been on and use separate utensils, such as tongs, for raw and cooked foods.
- Wash any equipment such as chopping boards and knives in hot soapy water and dry thoroughly between using them for raw meat or poultry and food like salads that won't be further cooked.
"We are currently planning the 2019 Australian Food Safety Week and are inviting organisations who may wish to become involved in our important work to contact us 0407-626-688 or info@foodsafety.asn.au," said Ms Moir.