Be smart, be food safe

Date published: 09 June 2009

Environmental health officers will be on Bury Market on Friday June 19 giving advice to residents during National Food Safety Week.

This year the focus is on people aged over 60, and the need to correctly store and handle food in the home. The reason is a recent sharp rise in cases of listeria within this age group, and the illness causes more deaths each year than salmonella and E. coli 0157 combined.

Steve Hoyle, food safety manager at Bury Council, said: “The number of reported cases of listeriosis has doubled in the last eight years and can cause serious illness in the elderly, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.

“Although the disease is not common we are aiming to raise awareness among the public and offer advice on how to avoid the disease by storing high risk foods at the correct temperature and checking use-by dates."