About 2.4m cases of food poisoning are occurring in the UK every year – more than double the estimate in 2009, according to the Food Standards Agency.
It says that “innovative new research” has provided a better estimate of how many cases of infectious intestinal diseases (IID) are caused by food.
This new figure is more than double the estimate in 2009, where cases of food-borne illness were thought to be at approximately 1m.
Despite the rise in numbers, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said this did not represent an increase in total IID or any new risk to public health. Instead, it gives researchers a better idea of the role of food in the spread of all IID in the UK.
Overall, the estimate of total IID remains the same – at about 18m cases each year. Of this number, about 60% (11m) are never attributed to a specific cause.
The agency, responsible for protecting public health in relation to food, estimates that about 380,000 cases of norovirus linked to food occur in the UK every year. This is just over 12% of all 3 million norovirus cases annually, the agency said, after a previous estimate in 2009 at 73,000 (2.5%).
Norovirus, a type of IID commonly known as the winter vomiting bug, causes diarrhoea and vomiting. New studies from the FSA reveal that eating out accounts for 37% of all food-borne norovirus cases, while takeaways account for 26%.
It also found that open-headed lettuce accounts for 30% of all cases, while raspberries are at 4% and oysters at 3%.
Prof Guy Poppy, chief scientific adviser to the FSA, said: “We are not changing our advice to consumers and businesses. Instead this research reinforces the need for the highest standards of good personal and food hygiene practices in catering establishments and at home to avoid infection.”
The agency says it will use the new research to inform future efforts to control and reduce the risk of infection posed to the public.
It advises all consumers and food businesses to wash fruit and vegetables before eating them to prevent food poisoning, and following good hygiene practices to avoid the spread of norovirus.
