At the start of Australian Food Safety Week 2022, Western Australians are being warned to take care when storing and preparing food.

WA Health’s Managing Scientist Food, Peter Gray said with summer approaching, warming temperatures provided a favourable environment for bacterial contaminants in food to thrive and multiply.

“There were more than 5,000 reports of infectious diseases that cause gastroenteritis in 2021 in WA,” he said. 

“Of these the two most commonly reported diseases were campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis – both of which can be caused by eating raw or minimally cooked foods.”

Preventable foodborne illness cost Western Australians and the WA health system an estimated $53 million last year.

Mr Gray said Food Safety Week was a timely reminder about the risk of foodborne illness ahead of the warmer summer months.

Australian Food Safety Week 2022 runs until 19 November 2022.

For Play it Food Safe tips, visit healthywa.wa.gov.au/foodsafety.

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