Report food poisoning

Food poisoning happens when you eat harmful bacteria.

The bacteria themselves may be poisonous or they may cause harmful effects within your body.

Food poisoning can lead to short illness (including vomiting and diarrhoea), more severe symptoms, or in rare cases even death.

The time it takes from eating contaminated food to feeling unwell can vary from a few hours to days depending on the type of bacteria. The last meal you ate may not be the one that caused you to feel unwell.

If you think you have food poisoning

You should:

• report it to your GP, who may ask you to submit a sample of your poo for analysis, to help any investigation.

If more than one person in your group has become unwell, with similar symptoms, after eating food from a takeaway or restaurant in Newcastle, you should also:

• email our public safety and regulation team and an officer will contact you to discuss it

Keep others safe

While you are sick you may be passing live bacteria, which could infect other people.

At this time you must:

• make sure that you wash your hands properly to avoid spreading the bacteria and infecting others
• if your job involves handling food or working with vulnerable people, inform your employer
• avoid handling food until at least 48 hours after your symptoms have stopped

If food poisoning is confirmed

If a food poisoning bacteria is found in your sample, we will be notified by Public Health England.

One of our environmental health officers will then contact you to try to identify how you became infected.