Report food poisoning

Food poisoning is an illness caused by bacteria, viruses or chemicals in food.

Common symptoms include:

nausea
vomiting
diarrhoea
abdominal pain

Depending on the type of infection, symptoms can develop anywhere from 6 hours up to 15 days after infection. The last meal you ate may not have caused your food poisoning.

You can report suspected food poisoning to us below.

Report food poisoning by email

You can also call 01454 868001.

If you suspect you have food poisoning you should:

contact your doctor and ask whether a stool sample is required
practise good personal hygiene
wash your hands before handling food and after visiting the toilet
disinfect door handles, taps and bathroom areas
drink plenty of fluids to reduce dehydration
let us know if you think your illness is caused by a food premises

How we investigate

We investigate reports of food poisoning and other foodborne illnesses to help prevent the spread of disease and identify possible causes.

After receiving a report, we may contact you to ask about:

the food you have eaten
places you have visited
people you have been in contact with
activities before you became unwell

Cases are often referred to us by GPs, hospital laboratories, the public and businesses.

Once we are informed someone has food poisoning we contact them to ask questions. This includes finding out what foods they have eaten, where they have been, who they have been in contact with and what they were doing before they became ill

If there is an outbreak of suspected food poisoning we may:

interview people who are ill and others who ate at the same venue
arrange testing of food or stool samples
inspect the food business involved

Certain infectious diseases are investigated by the UK Health Security Agency by Public Health Consultants.

Preventing food poisoning

You can reduce foodborne illnesses by:

wash hands thoroughly before handling food
keep food preparation surfaces and utensils clean and disinfected
prepare and store raw meat and other foods and ready to eat food separately
make sure your fridge and freezer are operating properly with a suitable thermometer
check the use by dates on food and make sure you use food before the date expires
always store eggs in the fridge and do not eat food containing uncooked egg
keep pets away from food and food preparation surfaces
defrost food thoroughly before cooking
cook food thoroughly and follow the manufacturers’ guidelines and make sure food is piping hot before eating
cool food immediately after cooking and never allow it to be at room temperature for more than 4 hours then store leftover food in the fridge