Food poisoning unfortunately affects hundreds of thousands of people in the UK each year. But Health Officials believe many more cases go unreported as people do not visit their GP to have a formal diagnosis.

Our role

Environmental Health Officers investigate food poisoning cases for a number of reasons:

1. To establish the type of food poisoning you are suffering from (this will usually be undertaken by the doctors, who will provide you with a faecal specimen kit to identify the type of food poisoning)
2. To establish the food that caused the illness
3. To investigate commercial premises if implicated in your illness
4. To prevent further spread by providing advice on general hygiene precautions in the home and information on exclusion for people who work with food, young children or the elderly.

What is food poisoning?

Food poisoning occurs from eating food contaminated with sufficiently high numbers of bacteria, viruses, other organisms or chemicals.

What symptoms are experienced?

The symptoms of food poisoning vary but generally include some or all of the following:-

• Headache
• Fever
• Stomach pains
• Diarrhoea
• Vomiting (Sickness)

Common sources of food poisoning

There are four main types of food poisoning and these are:-

1. Bacteria - By far the most common source.
2. Viruses - These do not actually grow on food but may be carried in food. Viral outbreaks often originate from water, which produces typical food poisoning symptoms.
3. Chemicals and Metals - Food poisoning caused by chemicals is rare and is often caused through carelessness e.g. allowing cleaning chemicals to contaminate food.
4. Poisonous Plants - Food poisoning caused by eating or handling poisonous plants e.g. deadly nightshade or some fungi. This cause of illness is rare.

What should I do if I have symptoms?

Food poisoning can make us feel ill within an hour, or as much as several days after eating affected food. If painful or persistent, consult your doctor especially if you are elderly, pregnant or the sufferer is a child. If you are only mildly ill, take plenty of fluids and rest until you feel ready to eat solid food again. Don’t prepare food for other people while you have vomiting or diarrhoea, however if its unavoidable, take extra care with hand washing. Food poisoning should be reported to your local Environmental Health Officer.

If you or your Doctor thinks the infection was linked to a particular food, shop or eating place, in Runnymede Borough Council area you should contact your Council's Environmental Health Section. The EHO may need to investigate the source, in order to identify others who may be suffering, or to prevent others becoming infected. They will also be able to offer advice on the specific type of food poisoning you have and how to manage it until you are well. For further information and advice please read our information on Eaten out and been ill.

Note:

It is important to inform your Doctor and Environmental Health Officer (EHO) if you:-

1. Are a food handler whose work is connected with the preparation or handling or food or drink
2. Are a health care, nursery or other staff who have direct contact or contact through serving food, with highly susceptible patients or persons in whom an intestinal infection would have particularly serious consequences.
3. If you work in a high-risk occupation you have a duty to inform your employer of your symptoms, i.e.

• Food handler
• Child minder
• Health care work
• Dealing with the elderly
• Contact with highly susceptible patients or persons

Should I go to work or school?

All people with symptoms should not work or go to school until symptom-free, people who work in food businesses, hospitals or nursery schools SHOULD NOT return to work until 48 hours after all symptoms have ceased. The manager of the food business should be notified of any food poisoning you or any family member, may have.

If people are formally excluded from work, they will not normally be required to return to work until 48 hours after all symptoms have ceased.

Please remember that you may still carry the organism for a number of weeks after the symptoms clear and scrupulous personal hygiene must be observed during this time.

IMPORTANT:
THERE MAY BE TYPES OF FOOD POISONING WHICH WILL REQUIRE YOU TO REMAIN OFF WORK UNTIL CLEARANCE IS GIVEN BY YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OFFICER.

For further information, contact your Environmental Services, telephone number 01932 838383, or in case of continuing illness, consult your family doctor.

What can I do to prevent the spread of food poisoning?

If you experience symptoms of food poisoning it is particularly important to observe strict personal hygiene, not only to prevent the spread of infection to others, but also to avoid re-infection. The following points should be remembered:

1. Wash your hands on a regular basis with soap and hot water, particularly after using the toilet. A separate hand towel should be used for infected persons. Where the patient is a young child it may be necessary for a parent to supervise or assist in proper washing of hands.
2. Wipe WC seat, handle and door knobs at regular intervals with a disinfectant.
3. Whilst showing symptoms it is advisable that you do not prepare food for others. If this is not possible, good personal hygiene practices must be followed.
4. If you work in a high-risk occupation, you MUST inform your employer of your symptoms.

Did you know?

Even when the symptoms have cleared, you MAY still carry and excrete the bacteria for several weeks. Close contacts may also carry and excrete the bacteria, even through they have had no symptoms.

The effects of food poisoning include: Stomach ache, Vomiting, Diarrhoea and sometimes fever. In some people these symptoms can last for weeks.

Food poisoning can be serious for the very young, the elderly and anyone already unwell.

With some types of food poisoning, people in the high risk groups mentioned above who are carrying the bacteria, must not return to work until they have been cleared by ourselves.

Symptoms of main types of food borne illness

This table is for information only, for a formal diagnosis you must consult your G.P.

Usual incubation	Typical Symptoms	Possible cause
Short
1-14 hours	Vomiting, diarrhoea	B. subtilis
1-5 hours	Vomiting, nausea	B. cereus
2-6 hours	Vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhoea	Staph. aureus
2-14 hours	Vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhoea	B. licheniformis
Intermediate
8-18 hours	Diarrhoea, abdominal pain	Clostridium perfringens
8-16 hours	Diarrhoea, abdominal pain	B. cereus
Long
12-48 hours	Diarrhoea, fever abdominal pain lasting several days	Salmonella
12-24 hours	Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea lasting 1-2 days	Virus
12-24 hours	Diarrhoea, abdominal pain	Vibrio parahaemolyticus
1-2 days	Diarrhoea plus special features e.g. bloody diarrhoea, bloody urine	E. coli
2-5 days	Diarrhoea (sometimes bloody), abdominal pain, fever	Campylobacter
1-2 weeks	Diarrhoea, bloating	Cryptosporidium
Non-Gastro Intestinal Disease
12-36 hours	Weakness, double vision, swallowing difficulty, dry mouth	Botulism
12-20 hours	Fever and other general signs of infection	Salmonella typhi
2-4 weeks	Jaundice, malaise	Hepatitis A
1-10 days	Mild 'Flu', malaise, meningitis, encephalitis	Listeria monocytogenes

Information Sheets

Below is a list of information sheets we provide regarding specific types of food poisoning.

1. Amoebic Dysentry
2. Bacillus cereus
3. Campylobacter
4. Clostridium Perfringens
5. Cryptosporidium
6. Dysentery
7. E-Coli
8. Giardia
9. Salmonella
10. Staphylococcus Aureus
11. Viruses
12. Information on Fish and Shellfish poisoning
13. Information on poisoning from contaminated Foods