MORE than 150 cases of food poisoning were reported in Chorley last year.

Up to one million cases of food-borne illness are reported each year in the UK, leading to 20,000 people being hospitalised and 500 deaths. In Chorley there were 158 cases.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) released the figures as part of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Food Safety Week, which runs until Sunday, and has the theme “proper cooking and avoiding cross-contamination”.

Prof Eric Bolton, of the HPA, said: “A bout of food poisoning can be a nightmare.

“If everyone, food workers and consumers, washed their hands thoroughly after going to the toilet, before and after handling food and before eating, we would see massive reductions in campylobacter, salmonella, norovirus infection and a range of other unpleasant food-borne infections.”

There was a notable increase in the summer as more people ate food at barbecues or picnics.

Bob Martin, FSA food safety expert, said: “Proper cooking will kill food bugs.

“It's especially important to make sure poultry, pork, burgers and sausages are cooked all the way through. If there's any pink meat or the juices have any pink or red in them, germs could be lurking.

“Check that your food is steaming hot all the way through before serving.”