BUG-beating health chiefs in Chorley are aiming to dish the dirt on food poisoning which costs the country more than £1,000m a year.

Householders will receive free information and advice when local environmental health officers provide a display of food safety issues at two venues.

The first takes place in the market square on Tuesday, June 9, and the second at Morrison's supermarket on Thursday, June 11.

It is all part of this year's National Food Safety Week between June 8-14

Keith Lowe, vice-chairman of the council's community services committee, said: "We see raising the profile of food safety in the home as an essential part of health education.

"In Chorley we are committed to improving the health of our residents and this initiative is a key part of our efforts to reduce the number of people who suffer from food poisoning."

Chorley Borough Council points out that the important messages to people handling food are: control temperatures, keep raw and cooked foods apart, wash hands properly before and after touching food, keep kitchens clean, avoid waiting times between cooking, preparation and eating.

Environmental health chiefs revealed there were 100,000 notified cases of food poisoning in the UK last year.

A massive 23 million working days are lost annually and one food poisoning bacterium can multiply to one million in less than seven hours.

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