The Food Standards Agency estimates the number of food poisoning cases in the UK to be around five million people each year. Food poisoning varies from mild stomachache to extremely severe illness requiring hospital treatment. Young children and babies are most at risk from food poisoning because it doesn't take much for them to lose a high percentage of body fluid and become dehydrated.
Food poisoning in the home can be kept at bay with stringent food hygiene practices. Many busy mums prepare food in advance, and often raise questions concerning the safety of cooling, storing and heating ready prepared meals. This article will address some of those questions and future articles will deal with raw food preparation and hygiene.