Monday, 11 November 2002

FOOD SAFETY WEEK 11 - 17 NOVEMBER 2002

The Food Safety Information Council today launched Food Safety Week with survey results which showed that school aged children are failing even in the most basic of hand washing methods.

Chair of the Food Safety Information Council, Mr Barry Shay said that, with 7 million cases of food poisoning in Australia every year, parents should make sure their children know the basics about food safety and hand washing.

'The Food Safety Information Council has commissioned a national telephone poll by Newspoll which has found that 36% of people thought it was safe to handle food after just rinsing their hands under water without using soap or drying thoroughly. Also, an observational survey carried out by the Food Safety Information Council of people using public facilities at a suburban shopping centre food court showed that 8% of females and 29% of males observed did not wash their hands at all.

'We all know that hands should be washed after going to the toilet and before handling food but only 20% of females and 7% of males observed used the correct procedure of washing their hands for at least 10 seconds, rubbing soap all over their hands, rinsing and drying for 10 seconds with a clean towel or 20 seconds with a hand drier. The most common problem was washing hands for less than the required ten seconds, failing to use soap and not drying hands for sufficient time. Drying hands thoroughly is important as bacteria love to travel on damp hands.

'Parents and grandparents should take responsibility in ensuring that children wash their hands correctly. In fact, some younger children were observed trying to do the right thing but were hurried by their parents,' Mr Shay said.

Contaminating food caused by poor hand washing is one of the factors that, mixed with other food handling errors can cause food poisoning. Other factors that can lead to food poisoning are:

• Handling food for others when you have diarrhoea.
• Leaving high risk foods such as meat, poultry, fish, seafood, cream, cooked rice and pasta out in the temperature danger zone (between 5 ºC and 60 ºC )
• Letting high risk foods especially meat, chicken and seafood come in contact with raw foods such as salad or fruit, for example by using the same chopping board and then not washing the board, hands and the knife.
• Running your fridge at or above 5 ºC.
• Not putting leftovers in the fridge or freezer as soon as possible after eating.
• Not cooking food properly, for example not cooking sausages, hamburgers, rolled or stuffed roasts and chicken all the way through until the juices run clear.

'When you combine these common errors with Australia's hot summers and catering for larger number of people when we are entertaining, the risk of food poisoning increases.   Food poisoning is not a minor illness as it can be fatal for children under 12, for older Australians and for the immuno-compromised. It can also have long terms effects such as reactive arthritis even in fit, young people.

'New national food regulations are in place to ensure that food businesses do the right thing but we mustn't forget that consumers have a role to play in protecting themselves and their families. 20% of food poisoning cases are estimated to be caused through poor food handling by consumers. The Food Safety Information Council promotes six simple messages for food safety. These are simple but effective ways of avoiding food poisoning,' Mr Shay concluded.

The Food Safety Information Council messages are:

• Keep hot food steaming hot
• Keep cold food refrigerated under 5 ºC
• Separate raw and cooked foods
• Cook food properly
• Keep kitchen and utensils clean.
• Wash hands with soap and dry thoroughly

Advice on food safety can be obtained from the Food Safety Information Council website page or by calling 1800 647 284.

Media contacts:
Lydia Buchtmann, Food Safety Information Council    (02) 6271 2620 or 0401 714 265 mobile  
Tania Bradley, Food Safety Information Council 0407 626 688 or (02) 6254 4896

TV chiefs of staff please note: a video news release will be sent from Sky TV Sydney at 10.15 am Monday 11 November 2002.

Print media chiefs of staff please note: there is a wide range of fact sheets, articles and quizzes on the Food Safety Information Council  website Research findings key points:

Newspoll national telephone poll:

1-3 November 2002. 1250 respondents.

• 42% of males and 30% females thought it was safe to handle food after just rinsing their hands under water.
• 32% males and 24% of female thought it was safe to handle food after washing and drying their hands without using soap.
• 98% of males and 97% of females correctly recognised that it was safe to handle food after washing their hands using soap and water and drying thoroughly.

Food Safety Information Council observation of hand washing

Observation of 200 people washing their hands in the public toilets of a food hall 11 October 2002.

• 8% of females and 29% of males failed to wash their hands at all after going to the toilet.
• Only 23% of females and 15% of males washed their hands for more than 10 seconds.
• Only 31% of females and 27% of males used soap and rubbed it all over their hands.
• Only 17% of females and 3% of males dried their hands on paper towel for more than 10 seconds.
• Only 3% of females and 4% males that used hand dryers used them for the required 20 seconds or more.
• Best performers were primary school aged girls who all washed their hands (but only 50% for the correct time) and also 55% used soap correctly.
• Worst performers were males of all age groups where 29% failed to wash hands at all and only 31% used any soap.
• 6.5% of those observed were noticeably food handlers (eg they wore a uniform or apron), of those only one washed their hands for more than 10 seconds, used soap and dried their hands correctly.
• Young children of pre-school or early primary age were observed to try to do the right thing with hand washing and drying, using soap, but were often hurried by their parents.

The Food Safety Information Council (previously known as the Food Safety Campaign Group) is a group of organisations with a mission to stop Australians getting sick from food poisoning. Its members include representatives of government, the food industry and professional associations.

Food Safety Week is proudly sponsored by the Australian Institute of Food Science Technology, Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, Food Science Australia, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, Hygenex, Radiowise, Safefood New South Wales, and Unilever.   Queensland Health financed and produced the television community service announcement.