A survey has uncovered a dangerously low level of knowledge of food safety in Irish homes and found potentially dangerous bugs which could cause food poisoning in 40 per cent of fridges examined.
The survey, carried out by the Teagasc National Food Centre on behalf of the Food Safety Promotion Board, found the food poisoning pathogen, Staphylococcus, in 40 per cent of fridges in the 1,000 homes sampled.
Staphylococcal food poisoning results in symptoms which include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and headaches. The more deadly pathogen, listeria, was found in 6 per cent of fridges in the survey carried out by food specialists from Teagasc and the University of Ulster, Jordanstown.
Dr Declan Bolton, the leader of the survey, said symptoms of listeriosis include septicaemia, meningitis, encephalitis and intrauterine or cervical infections in pregnant women, which may result in spontaneous abortion or stillbirth.
"A worrying finding from the survey is that half of Irish women had not heard of listeria and the potential consequences of infection during pregnancy and only 10 per cent associated it with a relevant foodstuff," said Dr Bolton.
The team found a frighteningly low level of basic food safety knowledge. For example, only one consumer in every five knew the correct temperature at which to operate a fridge. Only 22.5 per cent of consumers identified 1-5 degrees Celsius as the correct fridge temperature. "The results also show that over 50 per cent of consumers incorrectly defrost meat at room temperature. The correct way to defrost is either in the fridge or in the microwave," said Dr Bolton.