Public Servant Lifestyle

Food safety body warns: keep food chilled and covered up in the warm weather and on the move.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is warning people that ‘Bugs like it hot!’, so in warm weather it’s more important than ever to keep food cool and safe.

A hot, sunny day should be an enjoyable day out for the family with the prospect of a picnic or barbecue but, if people are not careful, the day could be spoilt by food poisoning as food bug numbers can soar in the heat. In the UK, there is a surge of food poisoning cases each year in the summer months, with just under half of cases caused by salmonella or campylobacter bacteria occurring between June and September. Every year there are an estimated 860,000 food poisoning cases.

Campylobacter Bacteria

Just ten invisible bugs in food can multiply to 1,000 in six hours, 100,000 in nine-and-a-half hours and more than a million in 12 hours. And when it’s very hot, bugs can multiply even faster.

To combat this trend, the FSA advises the public to keep food cool when eating outside. Just ten invisible bugs in your food can multiply to 1,000 in six hours; 100,000 in less than ten hours; and to more than a million in 12 hours. And, when it’s very hot, bugs can multiply even faster!

"Bugs can be prevented from gatecrashing people’s summer parties," said Dr Judith Hilton, Head of the FSA’s Microbiological Safety Division. "Being stuck in a traffic jam is bad enough – but unless you keep your food chilled, any bugs in your food will have a party.

"These bugs can multiply at such a rate, especially in cars while travelling, that they threaten to take over the day! Picnics should be chilled, particularly if stored in the back seat of a car or in the boot, as they are breeding ‘hot spots’ for bugs.

"If you keep food cool or chilled, you won’t get such an unpleasant gathering...and there will be less chance of a problem later." said Judith.

What Can You Do?

Top tips from the FSA to day-trippers on keeping food cool on hot, sunny days:

Avoid delays in getting shopping home – if possible, use a cool bag

Always keep stored food covered and out of the sun

If you are taking food for a picnic or day out, put it in a cool bag with some ice bricks or frozen cartons of fruit juice to help keep it cool

Keep the food in the cool bag until you are ready to eat it

Make sure that any raw foods - such as meat - are kept separately from ready-to-eat foods

An experiment on the increase in temperature of food in the cabin and the boot of a car in sunny weather was commissioned by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority for the New Zealand Foodsafe Partnership (NZFSA). Details of findings and recommendations for keeping food cool can be found on their website.

For more information about food safety issues visit the Food Standards Agency website.

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