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In the UK there are around 2.4 million cases of food poisoning every year, and an estimated 180 deaths. 2023 saw serious cases of food poisoning, where people need urgent hospital treatment, soar. At the moment over 75% of cases involve campylobacter, which has recently overtaken salmonella in the nation’s food poisoning stakes.
Here’s the food poisoning news – along with some good news. If you’re in food manufacture, foodservice, or operate anywhere along the food supply chain, our ultraviolet light disinfection units give your business a strong competitive advantage in an increasingly challenging economic landscape. Here’s why.
Britain’s campylobacter boom
Campylobacter is a beast. One in ten people who catch it get severe complications, including septicaemia and sometimes even paralysis. Experts say the shocking rise in cases is down to ‘contamination linked to imports of dirty foods’, and apparently it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Poor hygiene in commercial kitchens along with undercooked, contaminated food - especially chicken – sits at the heart of the problem. And it’s rising fast. The UK had around 250,000 cases in 1992, 360,000 in the year 2000, and campylobacter cases continue to rise. It causes severe diarrhoea and pain, most people need a doctor, and almost everyone needs a lot of time off work to recover.
Deadly E Coli menaces the UK
One person in Scotland has died in the most recent E Coli outbreak, which has made around 30 people ill so far. The outbreak is linked to the particularly nasty Shiga toxin-producing E coli, also called Stec, which turned up in July. Most cases happened in December. The Food Standards Agency said that ‘epidemiological and food chain investigations’ found links to unpasteurised cheeses, as we mentioned in a previous post.
Oyster nightmares and filthy water
The famous Arcachon oysters eaten to celebrate New Year in France have been affected by dirty wastewater, with symptoms in poisoned people that are a lot like acute gastroenteritis When tracing the illnesses back to the oysters, researchers also found Norovirus present in the animals.
It matters to the UK because we have our own terrible problems with contamination of the seas surrounding us, and the waterways flowing into the seas, which makes eating shellfish and other seafood harvested around our coasts a risky business.
Sewage was dumped in shellfish-inhabited water just under 29,000 times in the year leading up to August 2022, and the situation hasn’t improved since then. Waters where oysters, mussels and clams are harvested were exposed to untreated waste, creating a serious risk to human health.
Focusing on ultraviolet disinfection in your marketing materials
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 came into effect in 2008, allowing a business to be sued if it plays a part in someone’s death. The fines extend way beyond any compensation awarded in a civil law case or an individual criminal prosecution.
Luckily, against this background of increasing risk, our ultraviolet disinfection technology makes short work of food hygiene, quickly killing off a huge list of pathogens to leave the premises, storage units, transportation methods, conveyor belts or food production areas as hygienic and free from disease as possible.
Whether you run a small cafe in a seaside town or a popular restaurant in the capital, are part of the food manufacture chain or operate a food supply chain, import raw materials, or grow or raise food products for sale, our units can give you a significant competitive advantage.
It makes sense to choose a supplier or partner that takes food hygiene extremely seriously over an alternative whose hygiene standards aren’t so high. Mention it in your marketing materials, make a feature of your dedication to high food safety standards, and you’ll feel the benefit.
If you’d like to discuss the potential just give us a call or email us – we’re always happy to talk and there’s no obligation.