UK – The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a campaign to tackle inadequate hygiene standards in the catering business.

The campaign targets managers of 370,000 businesses. It gives them information on how to improve standards, and is being accompanied by a television, radio and print advertising campaign.

The campaign is the first phase of the FSA’s five year hygiene campaign, which aims to reduce incidents of food poisoning in the UK by 20% by 2006.

At the drive’s launch, the FSA unveiled its 2001 FSA Consumer Attitudes to Food survey. This said that 5.5 million UK consumers said they had food poisoning in the last year.

Almost three-quarters of people who suffered from food poisoning believed their illness was caused by food prepared out of the home.

The second annual Consumer Attitudes to Food survey also found that 51% of consumers expressed concern about standards of hygiene in catering outlets and that three quarters of 72% of consumers’ concerns were about cleanliness of the premises, staff or kitchen.

Many incidences of food poisoning go unreported, with only 24% of respondents who had experienced illness reporting it to anyone. Of those who did, the largest single group (14%) went to their local doctor, 7% reported it to the outlet where they bought the food, and only 2% reported it to their local council or environmental health officer.

Sir John Krebs, Chairman of the Food Standards Agency, said: “Most cases are preventable through simple good hygiene practices like washing hands at regular intervals when preparing food.

The campaign’s information pack will focus on washing hands, avoiding cross contamination of foods, cooking food properly and refrigerating food properly.