Suspected food poisoning?

Common symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea. Sometimes, you might also develop a fever. Other illnesses, medicines and excessive alcohol can cause similar symptoms to food poisoning so we will only usually investigate if there is a confirmed laboratory diagnosis. The recommended action is that you seek medical assistance. If you are concerned about your health or the health of someone else, contact NHS Direct (0845 4647) or your GP for advice (especially in the case of pregnant women, elderly people, children and people who are already ill).
If you think your illness has been caused by food from a restaurant or other food business, the Food and Safety Team should be informed as we may need to investigate the business in question. We will make an assessment of the facts and decide on a course of action. Ideally you would have sought medical assistance and your GP would have arranged for you to be tested for food poisoning illness.
This evidence is very useful for our investigation. It is important you report your concerns as if we find a problem with the business' food hygiene practices, and get the business to improve them; this could help prevent other people suffering from food poisoning.

What are the causes of food poisoning?

There are many different microbes including bacteria, viruses and parasites that can cause food poisoning and many result in diarrhoea, vomiting or both as well as other symptoms such as fevers and rashes. Having these symptoms does not necessarily mean that you have food poisoning. The Norovirus group of viruses are the most common cause of gastroenteritis (upset stomach) in the UK. Further information be found on the related link below.