Find out how to report a food safety concern and learn more about how to avoid food poisoning.
Food poisoning
Food poisoning is caused by infectious organisms or their toxins contaminating food or drink at some point during processing or production.
Symptoms of food poisoning include cramping, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. If you’re pregnant, elderly, very young, or immune compromised, you’re at greater risk of becoming very sick with food poisoning.
The Department of Health website has useful information on food poisoning symptoms, types and treatment. If you need urgent medical advice about suspected food poisoning please contact a health professional or call HealthDirect on 1800 022 222.
Report a food safety concern
Please Report It, if you:
- Suspect a food business within the shire is not complying with safe food handling practices
- Have concerns about the hygienic condition of a food business or the presence of pests
- Have fallen ill and believe it is from food you have consumed from a food business in the shire
- Have purchased food which is incorrectly labelled including the details of known allergens
- Have purchased food from a food business in the shire that you believe is not safe.
If possible, retain a proof of purchase (receipt) and any uneaten portion of food.
Food safety in the home
The following key tips are the golden rules for keeping food safe and reducing the risk of food poisoning:
- Keep the fridge below 5⁰C
- Put any food that needs to be kept cold in the fridge straight away
- Don’t eat food that’s meant to be in the fridge if it’s been left out for two hours or more
- Defrost and marinate foods in the fridge, especially meats
- Shop with a cooler bag, picnic with an esky.
- Wash and dry hands thoroughly before starting to prepare or eat any food, even a snack
- Keep benches, kitchen equipment and tableware clean and dry
- Don’t let raw meat juices drip onto other foods
- Separate raw and cooked food and use different cutting boards and knives for both
- Avoid making food for others if you are sick with diarrhoea or vomiting.
- Cook foods to at least 60⁰C, hotter for specific foods
- Reheat foods to at least 60⁰C, until they’re steaming hot throughout
- Make sure there’s no pink left in cooked meats such as mince or sausages
- Look for clear juices before serving chicken
- Heat to boiling all marinades containing raw meat juices before serving.
- Don’t eat food past a ‘use-by’ date
- Note a ‘best before’ date
- Follow storage and cooking instructions
- Be allergy aware
- Ask the seller for information about unpackaged foods.
More information and contact
For more information, please contact the Environmental Health Team on (08) 9780 5255 or email [email protected]