Every year, around 2.4 million people in the UK get food poisoning– mostly from viral or bacterial contamination. Eating outdoorsI rarely eat alfresco – whether picnics or barbecues – as the risk of food poisoning goes up when food is taken outdoors. For barbecues, meat needs to be thoroughly cooked, and a meat thermometer is a good investment to avoid food poisoning. AdvertisementAdvertisementIt is also possible to pick up food poisoning from eating any raw shellfish (clams, mussels, whelks, cockles). The benefits of being a microbiologist are that we know how to avoid food poisoning and, in return, people have confidence our cooking is very safe to eat.

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Persons: Primrose Freestone, —, I'm, Silas Stein, Lisa Marion Smith, Francisco Bonilla Organizations: Service, Getty, US Centers for Disease Control, Reuters, University of Leicester Locations: San Pancho, vibriosis