AS PART of National Food Safety Week, food experts from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council are keen to encourage residents to follow simple food hygiene steps in a bid to combat Campylobacter.

Around four in five cases of Campylobacter poisoning in the UK comes from contaminated poultry and one of the main ways to get and spread campylobacter poisoning is by not handling raw chicken properly.

Advice from the Food Standards Agency includes storing raw chicken separately from other food, covered and chilled on the bottom shelf of the fridge and not washing raw chicken to avoid germs being spread, by splashed water, to kitchen surfaces, clothing and cooking equipment.

Residents are also advised to wash everything that’s touched raw chicken in soap and hot water, including hands and utensils, and also checking chicken is cooked properly with no pink meat, and by ensuring it is steaming hot and the juices run clear.

Campylobacter poisoning usually develops a few days after eating contaminated food and symptoms can include abdominal pain, severe diarrhoea and vomiting.

It can last between two and 10 days and can be particularly severe in small children and the elderly.

In some cases, it can spark off longer lasting conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), reactive arthritis and in rare cases, Guillain-Barré syndrome – a serious and sometimes permanent condition of the nervous system.

The council’s Cabinet member for community services and the environment, Councillor Hayley Eachus, said: "Residents need to know how to prepare food in the best possible way to avoid illness, in particular those who are more vulnerable.

“With Food Safety Week starting on 18 May, I am hoping it will prompt residents to remember to handle and cook chicken carefully and enjoy it safely.”

For more advice on food safety, contact the council’s food and safety team on 01256 844844 or visit basingstoke.gov.uk/go/foodsafety and for more information on handling poultry safely, visit food.gov.uk/chickenchallenge.