Are these common foods going to give you food poisoning?

We all know the dangers of foods like chicken and rice, but you might be surprised at some of the other most common culprits...

When we hear the words 'food poisoning', images of raw chicken and lukewarm rice instantly spring to mind - so we were surprised to see the results of a recent study, which says it's not just poultry and grains you need to watch out for in the kitchen.

A new report from the Interagency Food Safety and Collaboration in America has looked at cases of food poisoning from 2008 all the way up to 2012, in order to identify the most common causes of four different strains of food poisoning - and some of the culprits that came up are not the foods you might expect!

Here are four of the most surprising foods that can give you food poisoning:

Seeded vegetables

They might look innocent enough, but seeded vegetables like peppers were found to be the cause behind a shocking 18% of salmonella cases. Eggs and fruit were close behind, with 12% each.

Dairy

Dairy products, including milk, cheese and yoghurt, were shown to have caused an enormous 66% of cases of campylobacter food poisoning.

Read our advice on food safety for your family

Beef

Undercooked meats are always a concern, but according to the study, a significant 46% of E-Coli food poisoning cases were caused by beef.

Fruit

Tainted fruit caused 50% of listeria food poisoning cases. In fact, based on the results in the survey, fresh produce and eggs poisoned more Americans than meat, fish or poultry.

So how can you prevent food poisoning?

Whilst this study was conducted in America, the threat of food poisoning is very real in Britain too! Here are the crucial measures you should take to prevent food poisoning in your home:

  • Wash your hands and surfaces frequently with anti-bacterial products

  • Refrigerate foods below 4°C

  • Wash fresh produce thoroughly before consuming (but never wash raw chicken!)

  • Use a food thermometer to determine safe cooking temperatures.
Jessica Dady
Food Editor

Jessica Dady is Food Editor at GoodtoKnow and has over 12 years of experience as a digital editor, specialising in all things food, recipes, and SEO. From the must-buy seasonal food hampers and advent calendars for Christmas to the family-friendly air fryers that’ll make dinner time a breeze, Jessica loves trying and testing various food products to find the best of the best for the busy parents among us. Over the years of working with GoodtoKnow, Jessica has had the privilege of working alongside Future’s Test Kitchen to create exclusive videos - as well as writing, testing, and shooting her own recipes. When she’s not embracing the great outdoors with her family at the weekends, Jessica enjoys baking up a storm in the kitchen with her favourite bakes being chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, and a tray of gooey chocolate brownies