I think I have had food poisoning from a food business

What is food poisoning?

There are many different organisms that cause food poisoning, each with their own unique characteristics and incubation times.

Incubation times are the period during which a food poisoning organism remains symptomless within the body. Depending on the type of organism present, this can range from a few hours to weeks before symptoms appear, although the most common is 12-36 hours after consumption of contaminated food.

Generally the symptoms of food poisoning are vomiting, diarrhoea, nausea (a feeling of being about to vomit) and stomach pains or headaches. 

There are also viruses and other infectious diseases that mimic the symptoms of food poisoning which may coincide with eating an unpleasant meal. It is therefore not necessarily the last place a person ate that has caused symptoms of food poisoning.

It is because of this that before we can carry out any follow up of alleged food poisoning with a business we need to know which food poisoning organism we are dealing with. 

How do I find out if I have food poisoning?

If you haven't already, you would need to submit a stool sample to the GP for testing to identify which organism is present. If your GP identifies food poisoning organisms from the stool sample the results will be automatically sent through to the Environmental Health team of the Local Authority in which you live to carry out the relevant follow up. This may include a detailed history of family life and food consumption.

If you have not been to your GP to submit a sample we will be unable in most cases to follow up allegations of food poisoning. We will however keep the details of the allegation on record should further cases be notified.

Information regarding the most common types of food borne illnesses can be found in the fact sheets below or by visiting the NHS Choices website.

Links

NHS Choices

See our food poisoning fact sheets for more information:

Aeromonas (.pdf 79KB)
Campylobacter (.pdf 160KB)
Clostridium Perfringens (.pdf 80KB)
Cryptosporidiosis (.pdf 89KB)
Dysentery (.pdf 85KB)
Food poisoning (.pdf 79KB)
Giardia Lamblia (.pdf 86KB)
Listeriosis (.pdf 80KB)
Salmonella (.pdf 82KB)
Scarlet Fever (.pdf 83KB)
Shigella (.pdf 78KB)
Vibrio Parahaemolyticus (.pdf 28KB)