Food Poisoning and Hygiene Top Ten Facts

Tuesday 12 February 2002

Find out who is affected by food poisoning, how much it costs the economy each year, and discover more about the Agency's campaign.

• An estimated 5.5 million people a year are affected by food poisoning, the vast majority as a result of eating in a restaurant, café, takeaway or fast food outlet.
• 12% of consumers said that they had experienced food poisoning over the last 12 months.
• 7 out of 10 of these (71%), approximately 4.2 million people in the UK, believed their food-borne illness was caused by food prepared out of the home.
• Food poisoning costs the economy, including employers and the NHS, at least £350 million a year.
• Food poisoning is the number one concern for consumers (59%), scoring higher than issues like BSE (55%), pesticides (50%) and GM food (38%).
• 51% of consumers are concerned about hygiene in one or more type of food outlet, an increase of 9% since 2000.
• 25% of consumers are concerned about hygiene standards in takeaways and 18% about standards in fast food outlets, although they are used regularly or occasionally by 49% and 38% of consumers (respectively).
• 7 out of ten (72%) consumers concerned about hygiene standards in food outlets are worried about the cleanliness of the premises, the staff or the kitchen.
• Nearly half of consumers with concerns about hygiene in catering outlets changed their eating habits in 2001. 6 out of 10 of them vote with their feet and do not return to outlets they are concerned about.
• The Food Hygiene Campaign will invest £20m over 5 years to reduce incidents of food poisoning by 20% by 2006.