Warning over risky kitchen behaviour seen in millions of households across the country – risk serious food poisoning

BE honest – how often do you shrug and bung food in a pan after giving it a quick sniff?

Health bosses are warning that this risky kitchen behaviour – practised by millions of Brits – could land you with a nasty case of food poisoning.

The Food Standards Agency's (FSA) latest consumer survey – the Wave 9 report – exposed the hazardous shortcuts people resort to in kitchens across the country.

Top of the list of egregious kitchen behaviours was the so-called ‘sniff test' – smelling your food to assess whether it's safe to cook with or not.

Surveys conducted between April and July last year showed that more than three-quarters of Brits (76 per cent) would rely on the ‘sniff test’ to assess whether raw meat is safe to eat or cook with.

A further 73 per cent of respondents said they consulted their nose rather than use-by dates for for milk and yoghurt, and 65 per cent said they would do the same with fish.

The report also found that most respondents would eat bagged salad (72 per cent ) or cheese (70 per cent) past its use-by date, while around six-in-ten respondents would eat yoghurt (63 per cent), milk (60 per cent), or cooked meats (58 per cent) after expiry.

But the FSA stressed that “the ‘sniff test’ is not an appropriate method for testing whether the food is safe to eat or cook with”.

It explained: “This is because food can look and smell fine even after the use-by date has passed, but the product will not be safe to eat and could cause food poisoning due to harmful bacteria which we cannot see or smell.”

Food poisoning occurs after you ingest germs like like salmonella or E. coli, landing you with an unpleasant mix of diarrhoea, stomach pains, nausea and vomiting.

This can happen if food is:

• Not cooked or reheated thoroughly
• Not stored correctly – for example, it's not been frozen or chilled
• Left out for too long
• Handled by someone who's ill or has not washed their hands
• Eaten after its use-by date

Any type of food can cause food poisoning.

Symptoms tend to strike within a few hours or days after eating the offending product.

They tend to get better within a week, though some people might get a severe bout of food poisoning that may need medical treatment.

FSA's chief executive Katie Pettifer said: “There are around 2.4 million recorded cases of foodborne illness in the UK every year, but by following the FSA’s food hygiene advice on cooking, cleaning, chilling and cross-contamination, you can reduce the risk of you or your family becoming unwell.”

Use-by dates are about safety, the FSA noted, meaning it's important you don't consume food past the dates on the pack.

Meanwhile, best-before dates are about quality.

Food with a best-before label can be eaten after the date on the pack, however they may not taste as good as they did before.

Give it a sniff to make sure it hasn't spoiled and look out for visual cues such as mould or changes in colour and texture.

The survey also found that around four in 10 respondents sometimes wash raw fish or seafood or raw chicken, at least occasionally, when preparing it.

The FSA recommends that people do not wash raw meat, fish or poultry, because doing this can splash harmful bacteria onto your hands, work surfaces, ready-to-eat foods, and cooking equipment.

However, the report wasn't all bad.

It showed that 94 per cent of respondents would never eat sausages when they are pink or have pink juices, and the majority of respondents (62 per cent) reported that they always check use-by dates before they cook or prepare food.

Another 83 per cent also reported that they would only reheat leftover food once, in line with FSA guidance.

It comes after health officials investigated a fatal listeria outbreak linked to desserts dished out in NHS hospitals.