‘Is it done yet? Use a thermometer for great food, cooked safely every time’ announced as Australian Food Safety Week 2017 theme (19 September 2017)

The theme of Australian Food Safety Week, to be held from 11 to 18 November 2017, was announced today as ‘Is it done yet? Using a thermometer to check if your food is cooked safely’.

Food Safety Information Council Chair, Rachelle Williams, said the Council was focusing on the priority of the Australian and New Zealand Food Ministerial Forum to reduce foodborne illness, particularly the escalating rates of Campylobacter and Salmonella infection in Australia.

‘Each year an estimated 4.1 million people get food poisoning in Australia, 1 million Australians have to visit a doctor with food poisoning, 32,000 people end up in hospital and 86 people die,’ Ms Williams said.

‘Australian Food Safety Week is the major activity of the Food Safety Information Council and plays a vital role in reducing the cases of food poisoning in the Australia community. Educating people to purchase a food thermometer for their home kitchen and to learn how to use it correctly to cook food safely will contribute to a reduction in food poisoning.

‘A downloadable package of material for use in Australian Food Safety Week events, including a draft media release, an online quiz and safe cooking temperature advice graphics will be available from the end of September.

‘The 2016 Food Safety Week and summer campaign was highly successful:

  • Between November 2016 and January 2017 our media releases generated 38 print media articles, 67 TV news items and 69 radio items reaching a total audience 5,112,659 (3,189,559 print and 1,923,100 radio and TV)
  • Our TV community service announcement was shown 851 times in mainland capital cities on Channels 7,9 and 10. Also on regional stations: Network Ten, Southern Cross Austereo Television (SCA), Imparja, Channel Seven ,Prime7, WIN, ABC TV, Sky Racing Direct and ICTV – Indigenous Community Television reaching multiple Indigenous communities nationwide.
  • The TV CSA was also played to an audience of 3,278,954 December 2016 to January 2017 at 910 sites where 4,000 GPs work where there are an average of 2,372,840 patients who wait an average of 34 minutes.

‘But we are concerned that this year’s activities will be severely curtailed as we still haven’t had our long term Federal Government restored after it was suddenly withdrawn 3 years ago. Help us make sure that the 2017 Australian Food Safety Week won’t be the last by sponsoring our important work, particularly to fund our research, radio and TV announcements and media release distribution. You can contact us on 0407 626 688 or emailing info@foodsafety.asn.au,’ Ms Williams concluded.

Media Contact: Lydia Buchtmann, Food Safety Information Council, 0407 626 688 info@foodsafety.asn.au

The Food Safety Information Council is Australia’s leading disseminator of consumer-targeted food safety information and a health promotion charity. Australian Food Safety Week is the major activity of the Food Safety Information Council. For further Information and how to donate see: www.foodsafety.asn.au