Warning to safely cook lamb amid rise in salmonella cases
Consumers are being urged to be cautious when serving pink lamb amid a sharp rise in sheep-related salmonella cases.
The advice was issued yesterday by the Food Standards Agency as more than 300 people have fallen ill since July last year.
The watchdog urged consumers to ensure all diced and minced lamb is "properly cooked", meaning pink lamb burgers and dishes containing lightly cooked chunks of lamb are off the menu.
Lamb chops and steaks are safe to be cooked pink as long as they have been seared, it said. This is because the bacteria only exists on the outside of the meat.
The FSA is investigating a rise in cases of a strain of Salmonella Typhimurium which have been linked to lamb and mutton.
Salmonella bacteria present in raw meat can only be killed by cooking at a high temperature, meaning infected meat which has not been cooked all the way through could pose a risk of food poisoning, it said.
If ingested, symptoms can last for up to a week and include vomiting, diarrhea and fever.
The FSA said it first noticed increase in cases of the salmonella strain in July 2017.
A number of "control measures" were put into place which led to a significant decline in cases at the end of that year, it said. A total of 118 cases were reported up until May 2018.
However since June 2018, a further 165 cases have been reported, prompting it to take further measures.
These latest measures have failed to reduce the number of cases, causing the FSA to resort to public warnings about how to cook and handle raw meat.
Colin Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer at the Food Standards Agency said: "We are advising care when preparing all meat, including lamb and mutton, to reduce the likelihood of becoming ill with Salmonella Typhimurium.
"Our advice is to purchase food as normal but to take care when storing, handling and cooking raw meat.
"People should wash their hands after touching raw meat, avoid contaminating other food in the kitchen by storing it separately in the fridge and using different chopping boards and knives, and ensure that meat, particularly diced and minced lamb, is cooked properly."
