FACTS

1. Cross contamination in food is a major way for bacteria to spread and multiply. It occurs when the juices or germs from other foods touch cooked foods. 
2. Cross contamination of food can result in food poisoning, making an individual feel considerably poorly. 

Symptoms include:

• Vomiting and Nausea
• Diarrhoea
• Stomach Cramps
  
• High Temperature
• Body Aches
• Body Chills
  

3. Usually, food poisoning symptoms will clear up after a week, but it is important to stay at home resting and recovering until your symptoms have completely gone. Keep drinking lots of water, resting and eating small amounts of bland food, to ensure your stomach is not unsettled any further.
4. Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli are among the most common foodborne pathogens that affect millions of people annually – sometimes with severe and fatal outcomes. 
5. Listeria infection leads to miscarriage in pregnant women or death of newborn babies. Although disease occurrence is relatively low, listeria’s severe and sometimes fatal health consequences, particularly among infants, children and the elderly, count them among the most serious foodborne infections. 

STATS

• Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances, causes more than 200 diseases – ranging from diarrhoea to cancers.
• An estimated 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people in the world – fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420 000 die every year, resulting in the loss of 33 million healthy life years (DALYs).
• US$110 billion is lost each year in productivity and medical expenses resulting from unsafe food in low- and middle-income countries.
• Children under 5 years of age carry 40% of the foodborne disease burden, with 125 000 deaths every year.
• Diarrhoeal diseases are the most common illnesses resulting from the consumption of contaminated food, causing 550 million people to fall ill and 230 000 deaths every year.
• Unsafe food poses global health threats, endangering everyone. Infants, young children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with an underlying illness are particularly vulnerable. Every year 220 million children contract diarrhoeal diseases and 96 000 die. Unsafe food creates a vicious cycle of diarrhoea and malnutrition, threatening the nutritional status of the most vulnerable.