Foodsafe Week a timely reminder for Clutha residents

This year’s Foodsafe Week (9-15 November) has come as a timely reminder for Clutha residents, with latest statistics revealing an unusually high number of notifiable diseases in the district in September 2009.

Council’s Environmental Health Officer Corinne Shaw said the figures revealed that, during September, Clutha had over three times the average level of notified diseases for the rest of Otago and Southland.

Mrs Shaw said the results were unusual and no reason had been identified for the high numbers, but next week’s Foodsafe Week provided a timely reminder for people to be aware of food safety.

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority estimates about 800 cases of foodborne illness occur in the Clutha District each year, with an estimated half of these due to the mishandling of food in the home. These illnesses are especially common during the summer months as bacteria multiply faster in warmer weather.

National Foodsafe Week aims to raise awareness of foodborne illness and highlight the importance of food safety in the home. The theme of this year’s Foodsafe Week is preparing food safely for family and friends.

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority and Clutha District Council endorse the ‘4C’s’ of food safety: ‘Clean, Cook, Cover and Chill’, and have long promoted hand washing as the most effective action people can take to prevent the spread of infectious disease.

Thorough hand hygiene not only protects the individual but also those around them. Teaching children to follow the 20+20 rule – washing hands for 20 seconds with soap and hot water and dry for 20 seconds with a clean, dry towel or paper towel – can help prevent foodborne illness.

To help promote Foodsafe Week, Council is running competitions for children through its libraries. Drop into your local library to check out the details and closing dates.

More information is available on the Foodsafe website – www.foodsafe.org.nz