Salmonella

An infected person can easily pass the infection on to others when their hand hygiene is poor. 

Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly with warm water and soap:

• before preparing and handling food
• after going to the toilet
• after touching raw meat
• after contact with animals

Effective cleaning removes bacteria, preventing it from spreading onto food.

Eggs can be a risk for salmonella. However, vulnerable groups including young children (typically children under 5 years old), those who are pregnant women and older adults (typically those aged 65 years and older)people can safely eat raw or lightly cooked hen eggs if they have the British Lion mark or are produced by the Laid in Britain quality assurance scheme. These schemes ensure the highest standards of food safety including that the laying hens have been vaccinated against salmonella.

Non-hen eggs carry a higher risk of salmonella and shouldn’t be used to prepare raw or lightly cooked egg dishes. Eggs from animals other than chickens should always be cooked thoroughly.

Always cook food safely to avoid food poisoning.

• defrost raw meat and poultry in the fridge in a covered container on the bottom shelf away from cooked foods
• it’s important to keep raw meat and poultry cold when defrosting - salmonella loves to grow above fridge temperatures
• always check raw meat and poultry are fully defrosted before cooking

Chill food properly to stop germs growing.

Salmonella can be easily transferred from raw meat and poultry to other foods, worktops, chopping boards and knives. To reduce your risk:

• keep raw meat/poultry and ready-to-eat foods separate during storage and preparation
• do not use the same chopping board or utensils for raw meat/poultry and ready-to-eat food (such as salads) without washing the board and utensils thoroughly in hot, soapy water between use

Stop the spread by avoiding cross-contamination.