A new survey carried out by the Food Standards Agency has found that around 80 per cent of people are putting their health at risk by failing to carry out even basic food hygiene practices.
The research, carried out as part of Food Safety Week running from 10th to 16th June, involved asking people about cooking at home and whether they carry out practices and procedures commonly included in basic food hygiene training courses. A staggering 80 per cent of those included in the survey admitted to one or more bad food hygiene habits, any of which could put themselves and their families at risk.
The survey also found that a fifth of people don’t wash their hands thoroughly or at all before preparing meals, whilst a third of people admitted that they would eat food that they had accidentally dropped on the floor.
Bob Martin from the Food Standards Agency, which now wants to improve food hygiene standards in British homes by encouraging them to complete the new Kitchen Check quiz online, explained why food hygiene is so important. He said:
“By not washing their hands before preparing food at home, or ignoring ‘use by’ dates, people could be setting themselves and their friends or family up for a bout of really unpleasant illness. It’s encouraging though to see that the majority of people are concerned about food safety.”
