Food poisoning and infectious diseases

We investigate cases of food poisoning and other notifiable infectious diseases. They’re usually reported to us by the UK Health Security agency after positive results from their laboratory – normally due to someone contacting their GP and submitting a faecal sample for examination.

Not all cases of infectious disease are due to contaminated food. The cause of many infectious diseases are viruses that often have the same symptoms of food poisoning and spread very quickly from one person to another. These types of infection are especially common in babies and young children who pick them up from other children at nurseries, playgroups and school. Other sources of infection include farm animals and household pets.

How we investigate illnesses reported to us

A member of our Commercial Protection Team will contact the person with symptoms, either by post, telephone or by visiting them. They’ll ask them:

• what and where they've eaten before their illness
• their symptoms
• if they've been on holiday abroad
• if their GP has taken a faecal sample
• if anybody else they ate with also experienced any symptoms – we may ask that person to provide a faecal sample

This information can help to prevent the spread of illness within the community and to try to establish possible causes. We’ll give advice to the patient on how to prevent the spread of disease in their home.

If you suspect you have food poisoning 

If you suspect you’re suffering from an infectious disease, such as food poisoning, you should consult your GP as soon as possible, who might ask you to submit a sample for examination.

Find out more about the causes and symptoms of food poisoning on the NHS website

If you handle food at work or are a health care or nursery worker who has direct contact with people for whom an intestinal infection would have serious consequences, you should not return to work until you’re symptom-free for 48 hours. You should also tell your employer of your symptoms.

Parents or guardians of children aged under five years, or children or adults unable to implement good standards of personal hygiene, should keep them away from school or other establishments until they’ve been symptom-free for 48 hours.

Preventing food poisoning

The main causes of food poisoning and food borne illness are:

• preparing food too far in advance
• not cooking food properly
• not defrosting food correctly
• storing food incorrectly (too warm) so that bacteria can grow quickly
• cross-contamination of food after cooking
• infection from people handling food due to poor hygiene

There are simple rules you can follow to help you and your families to stay safe.

Get tips on how to store, prepare and cook food safely on the NHS inform website

Get tips on how to cook food to prevent food poisoning on the Food Standards Agency website

Contact Commercial Protection 

You can discuss any specific queries or concerns you may have with us using the contact details below, or you can read about infectious diseases on GOV.UK.