Food News, with Christine Rutter

IT IS a frightening fact that one housefly can carry two million bacteria.

Latest figures from the East Lancashire Health Authority show a worrying escalation in food poisoning cases.

Salmonella and campylobacter illnesses across the county rocketed to 1,073 last year - an increase of 123 from 1994.

More than 2.3 million working days are lost each year because of food poisoning, costing the nation an estimated £1,000 million a year.

Children, the elderly, pregnant women and the sick are more vulnerable to food poisoning, which can last for days and include abdominal pains, diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and fever.

The main causes are poor cooking, keeping cooked food too warm and contamination of cooked food by raw food in preparation areas.

Pat Harris, environmental health officer at Burnley Borough Council, said that campylobacter, one of the most common food poisoning bugs, increased in summer.

Pat said: "Barbecues are a big problem because of undercooked food, lack of hygiene and no washing facilities outside. Food should be bought from reputable places and cooked right through."

One bacterium can multiply to one million in less than seven hours and they are hard to detect because they are tasteless and odourless. Food poisoning can kill, yet The Food and Drink Federation revealed some dangerous trends in eating habits during National Food Safety Week, which runs until Sunday.

Half the population admitted they did not follow manufacturers' instructions for preparing and cooking food and 40 per cent never checked sell-by dates.

A third said they never washed their hands before touching food and three-quarters did not know the correct temperatures for their fridge and freezer. During National Food Safety Week, local environment health officers, nurseries, factories, schools and hospitals will highlight how food should be kept safe.

The techniques could save lives.

The Environmental Health department at Blackburn Council is running seminars for butchers in Blackburn and Darwen to update them on food safety issues.

Senior environment officer at Blackburn Lindsey Allen said: "The seminars teach the butchers how to combat E-coli and the like and shows them how to carry out their own hazard analysis."

Mrs Anne Beford, who runs the family butcher's business on Blackburn's three-day market, said: "Food safety has always been paramount to our business.

"The seminars help butchers keep abreast of the latest investigations into E-coli and the like.

"We have also been handing out food safety leaflets to our customers as well."

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