The following symptoms usually begin one to three days after eating contaminated food:

• Feeling sick
• Diarrhoea
• Vomiting (sickness)
• Stomach cramps

For more information about symptoms see NHS Choices - Food poisoning.

1. Go to your doctor and ask for medical advice (you can also contact NHS Choices or telephone 111)
2. Report the incident to your employer if you work with food or vulnerable people.
3. Submit an Environmental health service request You should tell us:
   • What your symptoms are (sickness, diarrhoea, nausea etc.)
   • Where you ate (name, address)
   • What you ate and drank (including side orders, sauces etc.)

No, we do not usually investigate reports of suspected food poisoning. When people suffer sickness and diarrhoea they often think they are suffering from food poisoning. However these symptoms can also be from viruses (e.g. Norovirus & Coronavirus) which are not generally associated with food. Some food poisoning bacteria or their toxins can cause illness within a short time of eating the food, but most take longer before symptoms begin, some up to several days, so it is not always necessarily the last thing that you have eaten

If you submit a faecal sample to your GP and test positive for a food poisoning then your results will be sent to your us (or the Local Authority where you live) who will then contact you (either in writing or by telephone) for more information about your illness.

You should stay off work until you have been symptom free for at least 48 hours.

This is particularly important for the following groups who are at higher risk of spreading infection:

• food handlers involved with unwrapped or ready to eat food
• staff of health care facilities in contact with food or patients
• children aged below 5 years attending nurseries, playgroups etc
• older children and adults who may find it difficult to carry out good personal
• hygiene

We will contact you either in person, on the telephone or via a questionnaire to establish:

1. Where and what you have eaten over the preceding days and weeks.
2. Details of your symptoms.
3. Details of anyone else who you suspect maybe ill.

You should stay off work until you have been symptom free for at least 48 hours.

This is particularly important for the following groups who are at higher risk of spreading infection:

• food handlers involved with unwrapped or ready to eat food
• staff of health care facilities in contact with food or patients
• children aged below 5 years attending nurseries, playgroups etc
• older children and adults who may find it difficult to carry out good personal
• hygiene

Follow the NHS food poisoning advice and how to manage food poisoning at home. 

A food poisoning outbreak means that there are two or more linked people. They are typically linked by a common exposure to food (for example, they ate at the same restaurant or ate the same make or type of products from a shop).

The evidence we collect during investigations gives us a much better chance of identifying the source of the infection. In these cases we can take steps to limit the outbreak and then consider what action might be appropriate.

• Bacillus cereus

• Botulism

• Campylobacter

• Cholera

• Clostridium Difficile

• Cryptosporidium

• Dysentry (Shigella & amoebiasis)

• E.Coli 0157

• Giardiasis

• Hepatitis

• Listeriosis

• Norovirus

• Rota Virus

• Salmonella

• Scombroid food poisoning

• Staphylococcus food poisoning

• Shellfish

  • Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning

  • Paralytic shellfish poisoning

  • Amnesic shellfish poisoning

• Typhoid

• Yersinia

Many cases of food poisoning probably occur due to poor practises at home, consider the following tips to avoid catching food poisoning:

1. Wash your hands with warm water and soap before and after handling food, after going to the toilet, handling pets or touching the bin.
2. Keep raw and ready-to-eat foods separate at all times.
3. Always eat food within its use-by date (or freeze by the use-by date).
4. Store food according to the instructions (for example some foods need to be kept chilled below 5°C) and consume within the recommended timeframe once opened (this is usually within 2 days).
5. Regularly wash down all food preparation areas using soap and hot water, especially after preparing raw foods.
6. Keep pets out of the kitchen when food is being prepared. If pets come into the kitchen clean afterwards where necessary.
7. Don’t leave opened food or cooked food standing at room temperature for longer than 2 hours (1 hour for rice or rice-based dishes).
8. Always ensure all cooked foods have been thoroughly cooked through.
9. If reheating foods, it’s important to ensure that you also reheat these thoroughly.
10. Avoid handling or preparing food if you’re unwell; give the responsibility to someone who is well.

Follow the advice for;

• cooking your food
• Chilling, freezing and defrosting food
• barbeque safety
• preparing bergers
• keeping food safe on a picnic
• home food fact checker
• best before and use by dates
• Christmas food safety
• Handling rice

Food Hygiene Rating Score

When choosing a place to eat out or buy food you should check their Food hygiene rating scores. The scheme helps you choose where to eat out or shop for food by giving you clear information about the businesses’ hygiene standards. Any premises scored between 0 and 2 requires improvement, 3 is generally satisfactory with food hygiene standards and scores of 4 and 5 are good or very good! Typically we recommend shopping at premises with higher scores.