Foodborne illnesses cause around 5-hundred hospital admissions every year across Scotland.
Food Standards Scotland is warning people to take care this summer, as the better weather encourages more people to barbeque. They found 1 in 4 adults thinks it's safe to wash a chicken before cooking it, while 1 in 5 admitted to not washing their hands after handling raw meat.
A recent survey showed that around three quarters of fresh chickens sold by major retailers are contaminated with Campylobacter, yet a third of Scots (32%) could not correctly identify the name of the bug that can cause abdominal pain, severe diarrhoea, vomiting and at its worst, in very rare cases, can kill.
Food Standards Scotland Chief Executive, Geoff Ogle, said:
"He said: “It is easy to dismiss food poisoning as a common, predominantly mild affliction but Campylobacter can be a harrowing illness which can cause excruciating pain, inflammation, sickness and diarrhoea.
"It can be particularly common during our summer barbecue season so we are reminding people when cooking on the barbecue to take good care of their families and friends by paying attention to our simple Four C’s food safety rules."
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