FOOD Standards Scotland has revealed that its staff took nine days off work in the past two years – with food poisoning.
The government agency is in the middle of a high-profile campaign to raise awareness of 20 “kitchen crimes” behind bouts of illness.
But the Aberdeen-based body admitted following a Freedom of Information request that three of its workforce of around 90 succumbed to food poisoning 2016 and 2017.
According to the agency, there are estimated to be around 43,000 cases of foodborne illness in Scotland every year, with 5,800 GP visits and 500 people needing hospital treatment for food poisoning.
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) in its FoI response confirmed: “Two FSS employees were absent from work as a result of food poisoning in 2017, and one in 2016.
“In total, nine days were lost as a result.”
FSS released a campaign to cut down on the top 20 “Kitchen Crimes” association with food poisoning at the beginning of January this year.
A recent survey conducted by the agency revealed that Scots only follow “11 out of 20 food safety practices on average.”
The 20 “Kitchen crimes” include forgetting to check fridges are cold enough, eating burgers and sausages that are still pink in the middle and believing the “five second rule” after dropping food on the floor.
Ian McWatt, Director of Operations at FSS, said all the food poisoning cases happened to staff outside their HQ.
He said: “There have been no food poisoning incidents within Pilgrim House since Food Standards Scotland was launched on 1 April 2015.
“There have been a total of 9 working days attributable to foodborne illness in that same period.”
