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How one in three of us gambles with our health by ignoring 'use by' dates on food

One in three of us is gambling with our health by eating food that is past its ‘use by’ date, food watchdogs warn today.

Another one in three happily consume food that has dropped on the floor, while one in five admit they don’t wash their hands before preparing a meal.

The Food Standards Agency, which came up with the findings, says the nation needs to clean up its kitchen habits to tackle a food poisoning epidemic that strikes down more than 1.7million a year.

Danger: A third of people eat food that is past its 'use by' date despite tests showing food poisoning bacteria is found on two thirds of fresh chicken sold on the high street (FILE PHOTO)

Most concern surrounds campylobacter, which infects as many as 460,000 Britons every year, leading to 100 deaths.

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Official research by the Food Standards Agency shows the bug can be found on as many as two thirds of all fresh chicken on sale on the high street.

Other concerns are salmonella, E.coli and Listeria, which is a particular risk to pregnant women and babies in the womb.

The FSA found that 85 per cent of people check the safety of food using the ‘sniff test’, while 68 per cent rely on checking the colour.

However, the watchdog said neither of these offer a reliable guide to safety and urged the public to stick by the ‘use by’ date, which relates to safety and are based on scientific testing.

More than 40 per cent of those questioned said they would eat food after its ‘use by’ date.

Such is the concern about food poisoning that watchdogs in the UK and the EU are working on controversial plans to allow fresh meat to be sprayed with lactic acid to kill off harmful bugs.

A survey by Which? found 60  per cent of shoppers would be ‘unlikely’ to buy chicken that had been sprayed or washed with the mild acid.

The EU has already given approval for lactic acid to be used on beef carcasses and it is consulting on extending this to chicken and other meat.

FSA food safety expert, Bob Martin, said: ‘By not washing their hands before preparing food at home, or ignoring ‘use by’ dates, people could be setting themselves and their friends or family up for a bout of really unpleasant illness.’

The watchdog has set up a Kitchen Check on its website to provide guidance on how to ensure food is safe.


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