However the number of gastroenteritis cases caused by viruses has increased. We are making great strides in tackling salmonella, but there is a long way to go. Importantly, these figures refer only to the reported cases, for each case of salmonella reported, over three go unreported and for each case of campylobacter, around eight go unreported. Many of these cases are preventable. We must get the message across that under no circumstances should people suffering from sickness and diarrhoea prepare food.
Education is the key.
The aim of National Food Safety Week is to help raise awareness of the importance of food hygiene and demonstrate that we all have a part to play in reducing cases of food poisoning. We recently set up the independent Food Standards Agency to ensure that everyone has access to impartial information on food safety. It is very effective at spreading advice about good food hygiene practice, however there is clearly still an awful lot of work to be done throughout the food chain. It is, however, extremely frustrating to witness the recent spate of celebrity chefs and restaurateurs making easy headline grabbing - high profile pronouncements that dirt is healthy. This sort of nonsense represents a return to a non-existent Arcadian age of food production and domestic simplicity.