The UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) said eating food that has passed its “use by” date increases the risk of exposure to the potentially deadly bacteria listeria. The warning from the food safety watchdog came as it announced the number of cases of listeria had doubled in the past nine years - with much of the rise among those over 60 years old. The FSA said one in three of the people who get food poisoning caused by the bug die as a result.
Sharp rise in listeria cases
“A recent sharp rise in the number of people taken ill with listeria has seen more older people affected. The number of cases rose by 20% in 2007 and has doubled since 2000, this increase occurring predominantly among people over 60,” said a FSA statement.
A study revealed less than half of this age group recognise “use by” dates as an important indicator of whether food is safe or not, and so they could be putting themselves at risk of serious illness.
The agency said it was particularly concerned that 40 percent of elderly people said they would eat dairy products up to three days past their “use by” date. Dairy products as well as a wide range of other chilled ready-to-eat foods can contain listeria.
Food safety campaign
The FSA has launched a campaign specifically targeted at older people as part of its annual Food Safety Week. Issues such as following storage instructions on food labels, ensuring fridge temperatures are between 0°C and 5°C, as well abiding by “use by” dates are all key themes.
FSA chief scientist Dr Andrew Wadge said: “The rise in listeria food poisoning among older people is worrying. Listeria can make people very ill and 95% of cases end up needing treatment in hospital.”
Government overhaul
The anxiety over the following of “use by” dates comes just days after Environment minister Hiliary Benn proposed a shake-up of the UK’s food label dating system. Consumer confusion over the meaning of the various categories is one cause of more than half a million tonnes - worth ₤10bn - of edible food being needlessly dumped every year, he said.
“When you buy something from the supermarket it should be easy to know how long you should keep it for and how you should store it. Too many of us are throwing things away simply because we’re not sure, we’re confused by the label, or we’re just playing safe,” said Benn last week.
“I plan to tackle the way these labels are used, making it absolutely clear exactly what’s safe and what’s not safe, so we can stop throwing away good food.”