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Health chiefs issue warning
Health chiefs are urging Wiganers to take care over the festive season after new figures revealed that scores of people fell ill with food poisoning last Christmas.
According to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) North West 127 people succumbed to campylobacter, listeria and salmonella.
With preparations for Christmas well underway, the agency is reminding Wiganers about the basic rules for safe food storage, preparation and cooking.
Professor Qutub Syed, director of the HPA North West, said: "There's enormous pressure on people who are required to cater for large gatherings at Christmas time and it's sometimes easy to forget the basic rules of food preparation.
"We are advising that great care should always be taken when catering, whether cooking Christmas dinner for the family or preparing snacks and canaps for social gatherings.
"We've all looked forward to Christmas for many months and it would be sad if the festivities were to be ruined by an outbreak of avoidable illness."
Most food poisoning cases can be avoided by following some simple rules.
Such rules include buying a "fresh" turkey as late as possible and storing it in the fridge, but not in a way that may risk contaminating other foodstuffs.
A large, frozen turkey can take as long as a couple of days to defrost.
If the turkey is stuffed before cooking, allow an extra 10-15 minutes of cooking time for every pound/450g of the bird's weight.
If food has been cooked and frozen, never freeze it again after it has been defrosted.
Use separate knives and chopping boards for raw and cooked products.
Wash hands thoroughly before handling any food, immediately after handling raw food, after going to the lavatory and before eating.
Across Greater Manchester there were 2,653 cases of food poisoning during 2008.
Prof Syed added: "When we are busy during the holiday season it is easy to forget to wash our hands.
"It is so important for people to make sure their hands are washed before handling any food, immediately after
handling raw food, after going to the lavatory and before eating."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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