Bridgend County Borough Council will support this year’s Food Safety Week (15–21 June 2009) by visiting day care centres throughout the County Borough and giving talks and information to centre users. The visits by officers from the council’s Public Protection department will be done in partnership with CRT Training, a local provider of training, leading to qualifications in food safety recognised by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. Advisory leaflets will also be given out at major food stores in the borough and at Age Concern Morgannwg’s weekly drop-in surgeries which takes place each Monday between 10am-12noon at the council’s Customer Service Centre in Angel Street, Bridgend. Food Safety Week is an annual event held to promote the importance of good food hygiene in the home. This year it will be targeting the over 60s with food hygiene advice on the need for correct storage and handling of food in the home. The reason for this focus is the recent rise in cases of Listeria specifically within this age group - cases have doubled since 2001. Listeria is a type of bacteria that can live and grow in food. Chilled food such as pâté, cooked sliced meats, soft cheeses and smoked fish, can be particularly harmful and one in three of the people who get food poisoning caused by Listeria will die. Other groups vulnerable to the bacteria include pregnant women and anyone who is ill or who has a long-term medical condition. The messages will centre on practical actions that people can do for themselves in order to reduce the risk of contracting Listeria, including storing food correctly, by: Keeping fridges at the correct temperature (between 0ºC and 5ºC / 32ºF and 41ºF). Following the storage instructions on food labels Using food by its ‘use-by’ date The Food Standards Agency is also distributing nearly 1.5 million leaflets through GPs surgeries and pharmacies across the UK and advertising on 2.25 million pharmacy bags. Councillor Lyn Morgan, Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and the council’s Older Person’s Champion, said: “People over 60 are more vulnerable to food-related illnesses and the work Bridgend County Borough Council is doing to promote the messages of Food Safety Week will help residents and their families stay safer. “